Secret Desire:ChelseaxVaughn
by mailiflower
Summary: Vaughn and Chelsea's budding romance from the ground up, heartbreaks and shipping pairs that will shock you till the end. Every six or more comments will motivate me to post more chapters faster so review plz and enjoy the fanfic!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

(Chelsea)

"Bye Marian! Bye dad! Don't fight while I'm gone." Chelsea called back as she placed her suitcase in the taxi.

She climbed in, her Dad and Stepmom waved goodbye to their only daughter, "Keep in touch, sweetheart!" Her father yelled back.

Chelsea waved goodbye to her family for what would be the last time.

"Goodbye home, hello Sunshine Islands..." She murmured to herself, she listened to Bon Jovi on the car radio till they came to a harbor. She climbed out and breathed in what she thought would be fresh sea air.

She instead got a noseful of rotting fish in a barrel, "Ugh! (Cough) Gross." Chelsea complained, squeezing her nose shut as she carried her suitcase on to the boat.

She found an empty seat near the railing as the wind whipped her mousy brown hair, threatening to whip her red bandana off her head. "Ahh, smooth sailing lying ahead today, eh miss?" A man who smelled of clams and sea silt said.

She hadn't even heard him approach, he had a pipe in his mouth and a twinkle in his eye.

"Oh, hello, I'm Chelsea." She said cheerfully, the man bowed his head, "I will be your captain this fine day, my name is Paschal."

They shared a delightful conversation of her reason for going to the islands, to practice her calling: farming. Then the sky turned dark as thunder rumbled.

The waves were choppy and Chelsea held her stomach, her face a sickly shade of green.

"Uh-oh, that's not good. Every time I sail this thing to the islands this crap happens."

Paschal muttered, pulling his hat closer to his head. Suddenly a flash of lightning ripped across the sky and smashed into the boat, making a huge hole, Chelsea shrieked in surprise.

The boat began sinking, water puddled around her boots.

Chelsea could see the shore ahead of her, just a few meters away.

"Well, here goes nothing." She held her nose and dived into the ocean.

Gasping for air she swam for her life to the sandy shores, her bandana floated a few feet ahead of her.

"NO!" She cried, she paddled over to the floating red hair accessory and clutched it to her chest.

She finally made it to the shore, coughing water out of her lungs. Her clothes were clinging to her body, "Well...I...made it...yay..." Chelsea managed to gasp out before she lost consciousness on the beach, the sky still dark with storm clouds.

"Is she awake?" A voice asked, it sounded so far away, so faint, "I don't know Felicia, I'll try again, HEY WAKE UP ALREADY!" The voice shouted, it pierced her eardrums.

"Kyaaah!" She yelped as she woke up, her forehead beaded with sweat. She surveyed the room she was in, a woman with curly pink hair in old fashioned clothes stared at her, eyes full of worry. There was an old man there too, bald and clutching a pitchfork, clothed in a farmers guise.

"Oh, thank heavens you're alive!" The woman with pink hair said, she handed Chelsea a bowl of corn soup. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until she swallowed every drop. "You have such an appetite dear, oh how rude of me. I'm Felicia and this is my father, Taro." said the woman as she pointed to Taro.

The old man waved her off, "Yes, yes you've had your pleasantries. What's your name?" Taro asked Chelsea. "I-I'm Chelsea, I'm the new farmer...farming...OH MY GOD! I have to get to the Sunshine Islands, like right now! Thanks for your hospitality, but I have to go-" She said, her legs wobbled and she collapsed on the bed.

Taro chuckled, "My dear girl, you are on the Sunshine Islands. You're the one we've been waiting for."

Chelsea smiled happily, "But for now, why don't we show you around. Now as you can see, this is your new home." Taro said as he revealed the rest of the home. A small kitchen, A door made of oak, A large dining table and a few other pieces of furniture.

"Come on now. I'll show you outside." He continued as he opened the door and left, Chelsea managed to stand better, though Felicia had to hold her arm as they walked to the door.

Chelsea was greeted by sweet spring air and soft sunshine. The smell of rich earth was strong. She sighed, she was going to love it here.

"Now, if you'll come here, this is your field, where you can plow and plant to your heart's content. Just remember that plants wither in the next season or if not cared for enough." Taro said as he motioned Chelsea towards a wide open field of plowed land.

She squealed happily and raced into the field, already calculating where she would plant her first crops.

"Oh, you'll need these, a gift for a farmer starting out." Taro said as he handed her a plow, a watering can, some packs of seeds and a bag of G. Chelsea moaned inwardly as she remembered that she lost her belongings, except for a few pieces of clothing and her bandana.

She glanced down and saw that she was wearing new clothes, a pair of denim shorts, a yellow shirt and a short red jacket, her signature boots were on too. "I bought you some new clothes Chelsea, don't worry it's your style, I think." Felicia whispered in Chelsea's ear, she grinned gratefully at Felicia.

"Helllooo? Pay attention!" Taro snapped, as he walked to a big red building with white trim, "This is your barn, you can take care of animals here: Cows, sheep, horses, etc., etc." He said.

Chelsea grinned in anticipation of new animals, Taro showed her a well and a chicken coop. "Now, I need to go home, feel free to explore and say hi to the other residents, most of them are here, except for Vaughn, he only comes on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and sometimes Mondays and Tuesdays as well. But NEVER Fridays." Taro said, and Felicia and he left across the bridge that must've connected to the town.

Chelsea was so excited that she got to work, in one hour she had three rows of freshly planted turnips done. She had hardly broken a sweat. "Well, that was fun, time to go introduce myself to everyone." She said cheerfully as she brushed some dirt specks off her shorts.

The town was bigger than she thought, a carpenters that smelled like refined ore. A General store where she could buy seeds. An animal store and a few randomly spread out houses, a stretch of sea glistened in the sun. Another bridge led to a large stretch of forest and the bridge on the west led to another part of town.

"But daddy! I want to play with Eliza~!" a little Asian boy yelled as he rushed out of the general store, his face was streaked with tears. An older man who must've been the boys' dad followed him; the man face palmed and looked at his son with contempt. "Charlie, you have to finish inventory so we can open for business, then you can play with your little friend, ok?" "Hi!" Chelsea exclaimed cheerfully as she walked up to the Asian father and son.

"Oh, hello miss, you must be Chelsea. The new farmer we heard about, right?" The man asked and Chelsea nodded enthusiastically.

"I'm Chen, and this annoying pain in the neck is my son, Charlie. We run the General store as you can see." Chen said as he gave his son a final glare before nodding to Chelsea.

"Nice to meet ya lady! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a play date to get to. BYEDADDYHOPEYOUSELLALOTKBYE!" Charlie said as he raced off to the carpenters place.

"Bye son. Wait a minute! Charlie! Bring your little butt back here and finish the damn inventory! Nice meeting you Chelsea! CHARLIE!" Chen said as he ran off after Charlie.

"Ook, then...Animal shop next." Chelsea said as she walked a little uncertainly to the animal shop.

"What if they're even crazier, oh boy..." She opened the door and was greeted by the smell of fresh chicken feed and fodder. A plump woman behind the counter beamed a brilliant smile at her, "Hi there! You're a new face, you must be Chelsea. I'm Mirabelle, welcome to my animal shop." Mirabelle shouted to the back, "Julia! Come and meet the new farmer!" A slender girl wearing a true workers outfit and a bouncy blond ponytail ran inside through the back door.

A boy about her age walked behind her, he had pale orange hair and glasses, he smiled shyly at her and waved. The girl was Chelsea's age as well but somehow she was more mature, "Hi, I'm Julia." She smiled warmly. The boy pushed up his glasses, "I-I'm Elliot, p-p-pleased to meet you."

Julia pushed Elliot playfully, " Oh loosen up, will ya? You're as boring as Vaughn sometimes." Elliot blushed," Sorry, and hey, Vaughn's a big bully..."

"Hey, who's this Vaughn dude I keep hearing about?" Chelsea said, all eyes were on her and she instantly felt uncomfortable.

Mirabelle saved her thankfully, "Vaughn is the animal trader, when you buy an animal he brings it to your house. Though he mostly just wanders around town, he can be a little...well...antisocial. He hates nearly everyone, though he counts us as friends anyway. Sabrina used to be his friend, but she got married to Mark last year so she moved away."

"He's a jerk." Elliot said, he pouted which made his facial features look knockout adorable. "I say, he just needs a close friend, any volunteers?" Julia said, no one offered.

Chelsea felt bad for this Vaughn guy and spoke up, "I'll be his friend! How bad can he be, right?" Mirabelle clapped her on the shoulder, "Noble! I like that. Good luck, he comes tomorrow. I'll send him to meet you in person before I set him to work."

Julia and Elliot smiled encouragingly, I felt at home, "Oh, how old are y-you anyway, Chelsea?" Elliot asked. "I'm 16." She said. Julia cocked her head to one side in confusion, " What the... why is it that every teen is the same age here? That makes it: Denny, Lanna, I, Elliot, Natalie, Pierre, Shea, Sabrina, Mark, Will, Witch princess, Vaughn, and now you for being 16."

"Well, I have to go, now, bye." Chelsea said as she waved at them as she left the store. "Huh, more people in this town than I thought." She took a few more steps and crashed into a huge wall, or something. "OOF!" A glance up, "KYAHHH!" She screamed a huge guy with ripped muscles and a menacing sneer towered over her.

"Quit that annoying screaming, though I can't say you're the first. Anyway, I'm Gannon, the town carpenter." said the man with a snort.

"I-I'm Chelsea, nice to meet you, gotta run!" She said as she hurried away.

Later on that day she met the food critic Pierre, the fisherman Denny and singer Lanna. She entered a little cottage, inside was Taro, Felicia, and a girl in a green sweater, she had the same pale orange hair as Elliot.

"Oh, Good afternoon Chelsea! This is Natalie one of my children." Felicia said, motioning to the pale girl. "Hi...Hey did you see an annoying awkward guy? About yea tall? With glasses?" Natalie said as she positioned her hand a few inches below her head.

"Stop teasing your brother Elliot, Natalie! He does more work around here than you." Taro said irritably as he munched on a turnip.

Chelsea left after some mumbled goodbyes and made towards her home.

She made it to her door when she heard a tiny sound, "(Whine) (Whine)..." It was coming from the bush nearest her house.

She began pushing it away, her eyes shielded by her other hand, "Please don't be a rat. Please don't be a frickin rat!" Instead it was a small beagle puppy with pale brown fur. "Arf!" It barked, its tail wagged happily.

"Hi there, fella!" Chelsea said as she bent down and patted the small dog on the head, "Are you lost?" The dog looked at her sadly, she thought for a while. "Want to be my new pet?" "Woof! Woof!" The dog practically leaped into her arms, Chelsea laughed as she dodged a wet kiss from a long brillo pad tongue.

They went inside and she placed the dog on the floor.

"Hmm, you need a name... how about Pooches?" Chelsea asked the dog, the dog growled and shook his head. "Fifi?" The dog gave her a disgusted look, "Ok, Ok let me think...Hmm, how about Hachi? Short for Hachico." Hachi barked happily and jumped up and down.

Chelsea walked over to the fridge and opened it, a few jugs of milk, eggs and a few cans of minced meat was all that was in there.

She opened a can and fed it to Hachi, he ate it before she could blink. Yawning, she changed into her pjs' and crawled into her bed. Her new dog curled up by her pillow and licked her face before falling asleep. "Night, my sweet little Hachico. Tomorrow is another day." Chelsea murmured as she fell into a deep sleep. Little did she know that her world was going to change forever the next day.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

(Vaughn)

A ship pulled into the harbor on a clear Wednesday morning. Vaughn jumped down and brushed off his cowboy hat. He squinted against the sun, his purple eyes were mere slants, "Wonderful. Another cheery day on the Sunshine Isles, I hope it rains..." He muttered to himself.

He made his way to Mirabelle's shop, his boots kicked up dust as he strode to the door. But before he could turn the handle, the door smacked him in the face and he stumbled backwards, clutching his head in pain.

"Ow! What was that for?" Vaughn grumbled as he glared at the kind pudgy face of Mirabelle.

"Sorry 'bout that Vaughn." She offered her hand to him but he shoved it away and got up, himself. "Hmph. Whatever, I'll be inside." He said gruffly, Mirabelle stopped him, " Hold it. I'd like you to meet the new farmer in town, her name is Chelsea, and she wants to meet you too."

"Chelsea? What? Couldn't her parents think of a better name for her than THAT?" Vaughn sniffed. Mirabelle frowned, "Oh come on! Maybe she can be your new friend, she's 16 and she's just starting out!"

"No." He said as he glared at her, Mirabelle grabbed his collar and dragged him over the bridge to the old abandoned farm, "HEY! Let go of me you crazy woman!" Vaughn snapped, he attempted to dig in his heels but soon gave up with a sigh. Mirabelle's strength is something no one should mess with.

She plopped him on the front door step, "Now be nice, I have to help Julia with the sheep." Mirabelle said as she marched back to her shop. Vaughn sneered behind her back and knocked on the door. *Knock, Knock*.

"Come in! Its open!" Said a voice inside, Vaughn shrugged and walked inside. A slender girl, a little shorter than him was organizing some farming supplies on the table. She had mousy brown hair, a red bandanna and farmer's clothes, with too short denim shorts.

She turned around and regarded him cheerfully, "Hi! I'm Chelsea, you must be Vaughn, right?" Vaughn groaned inwardly, she sounded boring already. "Yeah, I'm the animal trader around these parts…" Vaughn said flatly, he just wanted to get the heck out of there already, far away from the new girl.

"Would you like something to drink perhaps? I have...Water, milk, orange juice, or some carrot juice." Chelsea said with a wave of her hand towards the fridge. He sneered at the mention of carrot juice, "Uh… I'm fine thanks." His hat dropped off his head, revealing his silvery hair, he hastily picked it up.

"Oooh." Chelsea said, her face slightly blushing. Vaughn raised an eyebrow, "What?" "Nothing, you just looked you know, softer without your hat, less gruff and menacing." She said with a smile still glued on her lips.

Vaughn's' eyes widened and his face turned red, "Softer?...SOFTER? WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN? If it's an implication that I'm nice, than you got it all wrong girl, see ya!" He marched out of the house and slammed the door behind him. He tried to take a step but the back of his jacket was caught in the doorway, "Aw you have got to be..." He began to say, than Chelsea opened the door, releasing his jacket.

He blushed angrily, "Uh...BYE!" He continued his angry walk to the edge of the bridge connecting the house to the town. Vaughn ignored the sad look Chelsea gave him as he walked away.

He collided with Elliot, "yeep!" The little guy squeaked, "What do you want, Nerd?" Vaughn asked, trying to keep his temper.

"I-I w-w-was just...WAHHH!" Elliot ran screaming to his home, good riddance Vaughn thought. He stormed into Mirabelle's shop and leaned against his favorite wall, his hat tipped low over his face so it didn't show how hard he was fighting not to blush.

Mirabelle waddled over to him, "Vaughn? What happened? Did you meet the new girl?" Vaughn snarled, "That girl is weird! You hear me? A downright freak has made her home in our town! Ugh, always smiling and being all cheerful...blech."

Mirabelle had her cross look planted on her face and Vaughn knew he was in for another of her famous lectures, "Vaughn! You should learn to be more open, who knows? You might find common ground with her or something. She's new here and she's friendly so try to get along with her, ok?"

Vaughn walked to the door, before he left he muttered, "She's a freak and even worse, she has you fooled that she's normal."

-Three hours later-

Vaughn was sitting in the town bar with the owner Cliff, the bar never sold alcohol, but it had great meals and hot drinks. "Hey Vaughn! Did you check out the new farmer yet? She's like super nice." Cliff said as Vaughn drank down his fifth cup of coffee.

"…She's a freak." He mumbled as he slammed his cup down on the table and wiped his mouth with his arm sleeve. "But, hey, she's pretty cute 'aight? If I was as young as you and single I would date her like that." Cliff said as he snapped his fingers.

"Bah." Vaughn said softly and munched on a bagel, Cliff walked over to him, "Hey Vaughn...are you blushing under that hat?"

Vaughn's face flamed even more and he pushed his hat lower so Cliff couldn't see. "No, of course not, stupid." Cliff chuckled, "But you never blush...oh...oooh! I get it, you got a crush on the new girl, eh?"

Vaughn stood so abruptly, Cliff stumbled back in surprise, "The Hell? Why would I? She had the nerve to say that I looked 'soft' without my hat, what the heck does that mean anyway?" Cliff face palms himself. Vaughn looks at him with his eyes slanted, "What?"

Cliff's shoulders shook and Vaughn realized he was laughing, He was just about to leave when Cliff called back, "Hey Vaughn. Sorry for laughing, but don't you think that was a compliment to you? She probably just meant you looked nicer or handsome."

He stopped cold, he hadn't thought about that before, he could feel himself blushing again, "Whatever." He said as he left the bar. He bit his lip in confusion, he never got a compliment before, and it felt kind of good.

"Well, I'll try again I guess...(groan) Back to weird Chelsea's house." He muttered as he sulked across the bridge to the house where Chelsea lived. The river babbled against the rocks and fish jumped, attempting to catch fish in their mouths.

Chelsea was sitting on the front porch petting a beagle puppy, she stopped when she spotted Vaughn. "Oh. Vaughn?" He scowled and whipped around so he wouldn't see his face. "Um...are you upset at me? Look, I'm really s-" She began to say before Vaughn turned around and fixed her with his purple eyed stare, "Shut up! Your so annoying!" "HEY! I WSN"T DONE TALKING YET! DON"T INTERRUPT ME!" Chelsea shouted back at him, her blue eyes like glints of ice.

"Uhh..." Vaughn said, his eyes open in surprise, who knew a girl could have attitude like that. Chelsea started talking, "Now where was I...oh yeah!" Her eyes lost their hard glint and looked like pools of sadness, her lips were in a small frown. "I'm really, really, really, really sorry if I offended you...please forgive me."

Vaughn never thought he could be so shocked in one day, no one ever stood up to him except for Mirabelle and Julia. He smirked, a small smile playing on the corner of his lips. Chelsea beamed happily, "Sooo...you forgive me then?" He shrugged, "It's not in my nature to hold grudges."

Chelsea squealed happily and wrapped him in a tight hug, Vaughn was startled and pushed her away, he was slightly blushing. "Ok, Ok, enough!"

"Oooh! Now that we're friends, you can have a proper visit to my home, come on!" Chelsea said, motioning to Vaughn with the door open. "I'll pass." He said. Chelsea pouted, "Oh don't be so stubborn!" She grabbed his hat and walked inside. "HEY! Give me back my hat!" Vaughn yelled, that anger vain in his neck was throbbing like crazy. "If you want it, you have to come in!" Chelsea said playfully from inside the house. Vaughn sighed and walked in.

- A half hour later-

" I don't see why you're so upset about some hat, well, at least you came in to visit." Chelsea said happily. Vaughn muttered under his breath, his hat was back on his head, Chelsea sat next to him, she smelled like fresh earth and flowers. He hated to admit it, but she smelled good to him.

"No touching the hat alright, its special to me." Vaughn mumbled, his head resting on his arms. Chelsea touched the hat lightly, "Touch!" He grimaced, "I'll kill you..."

"Hmm?" Chelsea asked, her go lucky smile changed to fear as Vaughn ground his teeth and glared at her." .!" He shouted, rising from his chair. "Eep." She said as she ran from him. Vaughn chased her, intent on punching her, until she was backed into a wall, "NOBODY TOUCHES MY HAT!" He spat at her.

Chelsea sniffled, "Y-You scared me..." Vaughn was taken aback, did he just make a girl cry? "(SOB) Wahhhh!" Chelsea cried, her hands covered her eyes, "Hey! …Don't cry, please? Don't cry! No, um…its ok! Oh crap…um…uh…" Vaughn said, scrambling over his words as he searched for ways to comfort her. Chelsea removed her hands and smirked, her eyes weren't the least bit puffy and red, "Got ya!"

Vaughn scowled and swiped the bandanna off her head, her hair fell loose, framing her face. She shouted, "My bandanna! Give it back! Vaughn don't be mean! Give it baaccck!" He chuckled softly. He dropped it in her hands and she hastily redid her hair,

"Ok, now we're even." Vaughn said.

Chelsea shook her head, "Nope, you still owe me a visit and this one isn't done yet, come on! I'll make you some nice ice cold milk, ok?" Vaughn rolled his eyes and took a seat, "Yeah, yeah, whatever." They sat and chatted about small things like work, Vaughn actually had a pretty good time, even though he would rather die than tell her that.

But they soon ran out of topics to talk about and were plunged in an awkward silence.

"So..."

"So..."

"Um, what do you do besides animal trading?" Chelsea asked. Vaughn was kind of freaked, no one ever asked what he did besides animal trading, never.

"Not much, just wandering around, don't stay too long in one place…" He said simply, Chelsea stared at him like he was a fascinating art exhibit, he blushed then turned away so she wouldn't see his face.

"You must not have a lot of friends, huh?" Chelsea said, her voice full of concern. Vaughn shrugged, he wished she would just stop talking. He felt a hand on his shoulder and got up quickly and scowled at her, "Just what do you think you're doing?" Chelsea stood up as well, she smiled sincerely, " Nothing. I can be your friend, you're really nice."

"H-Huh?" Vaughn said, his face was probably beet red by now. He walked to the door, "See ya later Chelsea..." He left without another word.

He walked to the animal shop, Julia was attending it when he walked in. "Hi Vaughn!" She said mildly, "Hmph." He said as he collapsed on his usual bale of hay, he turned his back to her and pretended to snore.

Of course, sadly, she wasn't fooled, "Hey! I'm talking to you, don't just turn away!" She tugged his arm so he was flat on his back. "Oof...what?"

"How was Chelsea? Did you like her?" Julia asked. Vaughn sat up and tilted his hat up so he could fix Julia with one of his famous purple eyed glares. He felt a twinge of satisfaction when she flinched.

"Simple. I hate her, g'night." He turned over and fell asleep, leaving a distraught Julia staring in shock at his back.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

(Chelsea)

"Sooo. How'd you like Vaughn, Chels?" Julia asked while she took a sip of some turnip tea Chelsea made. "Mmm, needs some sugar."

"Vaughn is so nice! I don't know why he doesn't have more friends honestly." Chelsea said, Julia spat, spewing tea everywhere, "You ok?" She asked Julia, patting her back so she would calm down.

Julia waved her away, "I'm fine . . .Chels, how could you say Vaughn is 'nice'? We are talking about the same guy right?" Chelsea laughed, "Of course! He can be a little mean, but that just means he's shy, right?" Julia whistled, "Girl, you have guts. You and me are gonna be great pals. Hey, aren't you supposed to be working?"

"Nah, I finished this morning, hey how much is an adult cow? I made 20000 G from some of my crops." Chelsea asked. "3000G . . . why? You want to start ranching too?" Julia said. "Yep." Chelsea and Julia left the bar and headed towards the animal shop. She left Chelsea when Julia spotted Elliot and ran over.

Mirabelle smiled warmly when Chelsea stepped into the shop, "Hi Mirabelle! Can I buy an adult cow, please?" Mirabelle stepped from behind the counter, "Well, Great to see your getting an interest in ranching, I'll go and bring out one for you to see." She waddled out to the back door.

Chelsea wandered around and saw a lumpy bale of hay, "Huh." She poked it, and it moved. "What the . . ." Thinking that there was nothing wrong with it, she sat down on it.

"YEOW!" The bale yelled and it began shaking uncontrollably, Chelsea yelped and leaped away from it.

A pissed off looking Vaughn emerged from the hay bale, straw was clinging on to him, "Ok, who sat on me? I just lied down after moving boxes all morning . . ." His voice faded as he fixed his purple gaze on me, "Oh, it's YOU again, what are you doin here?"

She was about to respond when Mirabelle walked in, leading a black and white adult cow, "Moo." it bellowed. Mirabelle stroked its muzzle, "Well? What do you think? Ain't see a beaut?" Chelsea squealed and hugged the cow, "I love her! Here's the money." She handed Mirabelle 3000G exact, Mirabelle placed it in her shop till.

Vaughn's eyes glinted with interest, ". . . Oh, you're here buying a sow?" Chelsea nodded, "I'm gonna call her Beth." The cow mooed happily and snuggled closer to Chelsea.

"Mmph. Just don't get the cow killed early. . ." Vaughn snorted, he exited the shop. Chelsea, feeling a bit crestfallen paid for fodder and a milker and took Beth home. After feeding her and milking her Chelsea explored the rest of the town.

Taking advantage of the spring sun, she stretched and took a walk on the beach, letting her toes sink in the warm sand. "Chelsea! Hi!" a voice called from behind her, she turned around and was greeted by baby face Pierre, and his top hat nearly fell over when he ran to her.

"Hi Pierre. What's up?" "Here try this, it's my latest creation!" Pierre shoved a spoon full of a type of food into Chelsea's mouth. It was gooey and creamy and had a touch of potatoes. "Mmm! Oh my God, this is good, what am I eating?"

"Mushrooms, cheese, potatoes, and some pig ear for texture." He said gleefully. Chelsea's eyes widened and she smiled closemouthed as she swallowed with difficulty." (cough) Umm . . .delicious."

Pierre clapped his hands together happily, "Yes! I knew it was a hit, but Natalie was all like, 'noo, pig ear is disgusting.' yay! I'm glad you like it Chelsea." Chelsea was happy too, Pierre gave her a big hug and Chelsea laughed.

Suddenly a cold chill went down her spine, the kind of chill that you feel when someone watches you. Pierre must've felt it too, because he pulled back and looked around in confusion.

Vaughn was staring at them on a hill, his eyes blazing, with anger and something else. He marched down till he was standing next to them, it was kind of odd seeing him standing next to Pierre since it made Pierre look short and childish

"What's going on here?" Vaughn sneered, Pierre fixed his top hat and glared defiantly at him, "She was just sampling my new dish, want some?" He held out a spoon of more of his 'special' stew, pigs beware.

Vaughn smacked the spoon out of his hand, "Don't feed me any of that junk, you moron. . ." Chelsea walked in front of Pierre, shielding him from Vaughn and stared him down. "What's wrong with you? Pierre is a great chef, if you didn't turn your nose up at everything, maybe you might be happy for once. And what's wrong with hugging your friends, huh?" She thought about that, idea forming.

She grinned wickedly at Vaughn, he took a step back, confused. "What are you-" Chelsea had stepped forward and enveloped him in a warm hug. She could hear Pierre whistling his approval, she felt Vaughn's body stiffen at her touch.

She drew back and she saw that Vaughn was blushing, his purple eyes wide and confused.

"W-Why the hell did you do that?"

Chelsea snickered, "Just proving my point, see? it's not bad to hug your friend's right?"

Vaughn's eyes were filled with anger, his blushing faded. "I wouldn't know, you're not MY friend, I hate YOU." He stormed off up the hill.

Chelsea was shocked, no one really hated her before. She must've really been bad, because Pierre patted her on the shoulders, "It's ok, and everyone here is used to his temper." Chelsea looked at Pierre, her eyes full of misery, "Why doesn't he like me? I'm nice to him . . .I just want to be his friend . . .is that so wrong?"

Pierre shrugged and placed a mouthful of stew in his mouth, his eyes closed dreamily, where did he keep all those spoons and stew?

Chelsea got an idea, "Pierre...you know what everyone on the island loves to eat, right?" Pierre smiled, potatoes stuck in his teeth, "Correct." He stopped chewing and eyed her curiously, "Why?"

"Well, what's Vaughn's favorite?" She asked innocently "Oh, that's simple, its . . .oh no." Pierre said. "Oh yes. Let's go Pierre, we have work to do!" Chelsea said beckoning her with his hand.

Pierre pouted, "We need ingredients though! Milk and Rice and you need to have a kitchen of course, with a pot." Chelsea smiled, "Got that. I bought a cow today so I have a few pints in my shipping bin and some in my fridge."

Pierre scratched his head, "It's a pretty simple dish, but do you really want that jerk for a friend?" Chelsea nodded. Pierre sighed, "I'll teach you the recipe, and just buy some rice from Chen for 1000 G. I hope you know what you're doing Chelsea."

"Yep, come on! I have work to do." She grabbed him by his shirt sleeve and ran towards her house.

(twenty minutes later) "Wow, this kitchen got trashed . . ." Pierre commented as he saw the mess from some of the failed dishes Chelsea attempted to make earlier. "Whatever, try this, is this any better?"

Pierre screwed his eyes and ate a teaspoon of the porridge, he chewed and his eyes slowly opened and he chewed faster. "Marvelous, best porridge after, you have learned well, Chels."

Chelsea clapped and looked at the clock, it said 12:00, "Perfect! I'll just wrap the porridge in a package." Pierre dusted his hat off, "I'll help you clean up." In a matter of minutes the room was spotless. Chelsea let out a big sigh and flashed Pierre a smile, "Wish me luck, Pierre." The door closed behind her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

(Vaughn)

Vaughn leaned against the wall of the animal shop, still seething. Half at what he had witnessed down at the beach, and the other half was still upset that it had bothered him so much. "So . . . she gets lovey dovey with a midget that thinks he can cook, what do I care?" He muttered to himself.

Denny walked by and waved to Vaughn, "Hey old buddy!" He said cheerfully. Vaughn regarded him with a nod and pulled his hat down over his eyes.

His steps receded and Vaughn sighed. He closed his eyes, and relished the darkness his closed lids provided him with. The sound of the wind whistling through the trees put his mind at ease. He lost track of time when he fell asleep.

Vaughn was sitting in a cafe in the village, a small operation run by Joan, he normally went to the bar. Across from him, in a red bandanna and wearing work clothes was, Chelsea. His heart did a little relay race in his chest.

His mouth dried.

Chelsea winked at him, her hand playfully waving at him. Vaughn blushed, he attempted to pull down his hat to cover his face, only to grab thin air.

His hat was gone.

". . .What did you do to my hat?" He yelled, Chelsea only pouted as she traced the table with her fingertip. "Answer me, dammit!" Vaughn said, his purple eyes blazing. She giggled and beckoned him closer with her hand. Like she was about to tell him a secret.

The minute Vaughn leaned in close enough so she could whisper in his ear; she grabbed him by his ascot and kissed him, on the lips.

His eyes widened into flat, purple disks. His face was flushed red.

He raised his hands to push her away, but she removed her hands from his ascot and placed them on his face. Tracing his cheekbones as she continued kissing him. Vaughn closed his eyes and gave in. Chelsea continued to move her lips against his. 'It feels so…good…' Vaughn thought as his mind drifted off.

"Vaughn? Vaughn? Wake up! Wake up, you lazy cowboy!" Shouted a voice. Vaughn's eyes snapped open and he stumbled backwards in surprise. Julia was standing over him, looking annoyed as usual. Her hands on her hips, "Finally, sheesh. You're not going to sleep the day away are you?"

Vaughn scrambled up, his hat had fallen off his head and he hastily put it back on. But, it was too late; Julia had seen his red face. "Whoa! Vaughn, your all red. You have a fever?"

"N-no . . .Why did you wake me anyway?" Vaughn said. Julia rolled her eyes, "Well you were looking kind of funny sleeping while you stood against the wall, your mouth moving like you were talking. And then you stiffened up so suddenly I thought you were about to keel over."

Vaughn grunted, "Is that all, nurse Julia . . .?"

"Chelsea is here to see you." Julia said, pointing in back of her. When Vaughn looked over, it was a smiling Chelsea, wearing the same clothes from his dream. And holding a polka dotted covered box.

"Good afternoon Vaughn." She said. Vaughn prayed that his face wasn't as red as when Julia saw him.

"What?" He said.

She held the box out to him, "I made this for you." Vaughn regarded the box, like it was poison. The image of Chelsea from his dream was still fresh on his mind. He was a little worried that she would kiss him when he took the box from her. And in front of Julia, no less.

"No thanks, I don't want anything YOU made." Vaughn said, making sure to add extra venom to his tone. Chelsea was determined however and insisted he take it.

"Oh, come on! You'll like it! I promise." She said her tone insistent and pushy. Vaughn crossed his arms defiantly over his chest, "No."

Chelsea pushed the box closer to him, "Just open it! I spent a lot of time on it." She was close enough so that he could smell her sweet scent. Fresh earth and flowers. He hated to admit that his heart started pumping. He needed to put an end to this before he started to . . .well, he wouldn't get that far.

"I said . . .I DON"T WANT THE STUPID THING!" He shouted, and without intention, Vaughn knocked the box out of her hand. It opened when it hit the sidewalk, something wrapped in a sheet fell out.

*Crack*

Vaughn stared at it then back at Chelsea, her eyes were filled with tears. Overflowing at the brim. "I-I..." He started to say, but Chelsea covered her eyes with her arm and raced past him.

A choked sob escaped her lips as she passed him as she headed towards the west bridge.

The bridge led to the Witch Princesses house and the Church. Julia had witnessed the scene, and stormed angrily up to Vaughn and slapped him across the face. "Idiot! Now look what you did. You made her cry!" Julia yelled, her eyes hardened with accusation. Vaughn was shocked and rubbed the place where Julia left her hand imprint on his cheek.

He knelt where the broken item was, something was leaking out of the sheet. Something white and familiar. He opened the sack gingerly. Revealing a cracked bowl, that was half empty with the white, lumpy substance.

He righted the bowl so no more would leak out. Vaughn found a spoon, slightly bent, along with the bowl. Scooping up some, he cautiously placed it in his mouth. Vaughn's facial features softened when he realized what it was.

"Porridge . . ." He said, discarding the spoon back in the bowl. "Porridge? How did she know that was your favorite?" Julia wondered.

"Bet your feeling pretty low about what you did, huh?"

Vaughn did feel pretty ashamed, sighing he turned to Julia. "Well, she left. What do you expect me to do?" Julia smacked her palm on her forehead, "Dear God, are you dense? Apologize to her. You'll feel better, and besides . . .you like her, don't you?"

Vaughn blushed, his face felt flaming hot. "What? No. I don't like her, not one bit. I keep telling you that she's a damn freak!"

"Mmhm, sure. Look me in the eye and tell me that." Julia said, she walked closer till Vaughn could stare into her light gray eyes.

Vaughn tugged his hat over his eyes and turned towards the west bridge, "I don't like her . . ." As he walked away, he could hear Julia say,

"You're so into her."

He had never felt so embarrassed, or confused in his life.

He crossed the bridge and glanced around. Lake, church, witches house. Safest bet would be the church. Alisa greeted him with serenity as he walked inside, "Greetings Vaughn! What are you doing here? Morning services have ended."

"Did Chelsea come in here?" Vaughn asked.

Alisa widened her eyes till they looked like an owls, "Chelsea? Yeah, she ran by the church, looking awfully upset. I thought she went back to the village. Oh no, this isn't good. Not good at all . . ."

"Ok . . .Why is that not a good thing? Maybe she's just not in the church. Where else could she go?" Vaughn said, shrugging his shoulders.

Alisa wrung her hands on her blue and white robe, "Vaughn . . .What if she went to the Witch? She's been potion happy lately, just looking for people to test them on!"

The church shook with a sudden explosion, dust fell from the ceiling. "Uh-oh . . ." Alisa gasped. Vaughn rushed outside; he saw the Witch princesses' house was producing a purple smoke.

"Kyah-mrow!" Yelled an odd sounding screech.

"Chelsea!" Vaughn yelled when he rushed into the house, the door swung open. Panting he looked at the surroundings. Three potion bottles were broken, glass strewn across the floor. The Witch Princess was holding a book; her wild mane of golden hair matched her crazed red eyes. "Hmm . . .So THATS what that potion does, fascinating . . ."

"Witch! Where's Chelsea?" Vaughn sneered. The Witch regarded him coolly, "Umm . . .Who?" "Chelsea! Dammit! Tell me now." Vaughn shouted, losing his patience.

*Mew?*

Vaughn looked down; a tiny brown kitten was sitting near the bookshelf. It's eyes were full of sadness as it stared at him. The weird thing about it was that it had miniature versions of Chelsea's' clothes on. Even a tiny red bandanna.

The Witch narrowed her eyes, "Oh stop it. I told you I'm working on an antidote, sheesh." Vaughn knelt by the cat, it shrank away when he got close, "Chelsea?" He asked. Its tiny paws shuffled in the debris, it looked at him quizzically and purred, if cats could smile, this one did.

He picked cat Chelsea up, "Chelsea . . .oh God, what did that witch do to you?"

"Ahh, I found the antidote!" The Witch Princess squealed, "All you have to do is apologize to Chelsea and say you like her, that's all." Vaughn narrowed his eyes, "It says THAT in that stupid book of yours?"

"It's not a stupid book. And yes, it only works on cats that were upset as humans BEFORE they were transformed." Vaughn sighed and reluctantly held the cat up to his face, "Mrowr?"

"Chelsea . . .I'm sorry for what I did earlier, ok happy, Witch?" He said to the Witch Princess. She sighed irritably, "Your forgetting the second part in the spell, cowboy." Vaughn sneered, ". . .Call me cowboy again, and you won't see New Year's."

"I'd like to see you try." Witch Princess dared. Vaughn huffed and turned back to the cat. 'I'm gonna regret this . . .'

"Ok . . .And . . .I like you, as a friend, ok Chelsea?" Vaughn said as she placed the cat on the floor, the cat rubbed against his legs and sat down. He was expecting something like a flash of light or another magical explosion, but nothing happened.

"Nothing's happening!" He said, pointing an accusing finger at the Witch Princess.

She shrugged, "You need to say it with more feeling, or you can just take the easy way and say you love her and kiss her nose or . . ." Vaughn cut her off, blushing uncontrollably, "WHAT? You want me to- No! No way, no how!"

"Oh stop it W.P, I think you tortured him enough, don't you think?" A familiar voice said from the far side of the room. Vaughn glanced down at the cat, but it didn't look like it recently said anything, it just tried clawing its red bandanna off its fuzzy head.

Confused, Vaughn looked around the room, bookshelves cluttered with books and random animal bones and stones, the Witch, the cat with Chelsea's clothes, and a few drapes. The Witch laughed and with a snap of her fingers, Chelsea appeared from behind a bookcase, fully clothed in her normal working clothes.

"Ta da!" She said a smug grin on her face. "Ahh revenge, nothing quite like it." The Witch cracked up in heaps of laughter, and high fived Chelsea. Vaughn widened his eyes, "Chelsea? But, the cat and the bottles, the smoke!"

The Witch waved her hand nonchalantly in a circle, "Oh, I just dropped some brown die on shadow here." The cat meowed indignantly and sneezed.

Then Chelsea added her story, "I'm quite the seamstress don't you think? I made this little outfit so you would THINK I turned into a cat. That purple smoke was just a magic smoke ball I broke to make it look like I was caught in a spell. I was determined to get an apology from you, and I did, mission accomplished."

Vaughn, seething to his boiling point, opened the door and walked outside.

He was only to the church, when Chelsea ran outside after him, "Vaughn. Hey! Oh, come on! Don't be upset, it was just a prank. "

He whipped around and glared at Chelsea, she was so shocked that she stumbled into one of the church walls.

He stalked up to her and shoved her into the wall, his hands clenching her shoulders. "That was a stupid trick; I thought you were stuck as a cat forever!"

"Well, it never would've happened if you didn't ruin the gift I made you! I spent all morning on it. I only did it so I could be your friend." Chelsea shouted back, her scowl rivaled his own sneer.

He was taken aback, so she wanted to be his friend . . .why?

He released her shoulders and sighed, "I said I was sorry, it was an accident. I'm just not used to people. . .being nice to me." Chelsea's face softened, "Aww . . .but Julia and Mirabelle, and the rest of the people who live here try to get close to you, but you push them away."

Vaughn shrugged, he glanced at Chelsea, "Well, yeah. I guess, but that's because I don't lo- um . . . nothing." He blushed, he mentally slapped himself, what was he about to say?

Chelsea looked as confused as he felt, "Huh?" He noticed how close they were standing; Chelsea's face was illuminated in the fading sunlight. Something warm was forming in his chest, he just didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad.

Vaughn tugged his hat low on his face, "Come, on . . .it's getting late, I'll walk you home." Chelsea smiled happily and together they walked to her house. The night air was crisp; the stars twinkled from behind a light haze of clouds.

'Stop thinking about how good she smells, stop thinking of HER period.' He kept relaying those sentences over and over in his head. He would be leaving tomorrow and he wouldn't see her again for a week, with any luck she would leave him alone, and this 'friends' business would finally stop.

The only thing he didn't understand was this lump in his chest that seemed to get heavier the more he thought of being away from Chelsea, which was highly uncharacteristic of him.

"We're here. Thanks for walking me home, Vaughn. I appreciate it." Chelsea said, opening her door. "Yeah, whatever." Vaughn said, Chelsea waved and was about to go inside when he placed his hand on her arm.

As soon as she turned around, he wrapped her in a warm embrace; Vaughn let the hug last for a few minutes before pulling away.

Chelsea beamed happily at him, and Vaughn blushed, he turned away, "Night Chels . . . " He began walking away, when he thought he was out of earshot something hit the back of his head.

On the ground behind him was a tiny pebble, he picked it up. A roll of paper was attached to it; he unraveled it, what was on it made him smile.

It said: "Goodnight, you stuck up cowboy, See you next week. –Chelsea.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

(Chelsea)

"Good boy Hachi thanks for watching Beth for me." Chelsea said as she patted her puppy on the head.

Hachi panted and continued trotting a protective circle around the cow. A week had passed since She and the Witch had tricked Vaughn into thinking she turned into a cat.

Today was finally Wednesday; Vaughn would be at the animal shop by now. Chelsea grabbed a small jug of milk and began walking to the animal shop, crossing the bridge with ease.

She walked in, smelling the familiar scents of the shop, Mirabelle waved at her from behind the counter, organizing some boxes. Julia was chatting with Elliot in a corner.

Glancing around, Chelsea finally spotted Vaughn, standing with his back to her, muttering something incoherently.

"Morning, Vaughn!" She said cheerfully. Vaughn glanced back at her coolly, "Hey . . ." He looked at the milk in her hands and raised an eyebrow.

"Who's that for?"

Chelsea smiled, "For you. My cow made some fresh, this morning." Vaughn's face softened for a minute before he gingerly took the bottle from her and drank a few mouthfuls before placing it on the counter. "Thanks . . ."

"What were you looking for anyway?" She asked. "My toolbox, I need to do some repairing. I forgot where I left it though. . ." Vaughn said simply, his eyes narrowed.

"I'll help you look!" Chelsea said happily, Vaughn looked taken aback, "Oh . . .um . . .ok, let's go outside, I might've left it out there." They walked outside and began searching. It seemed like hours before Chelsea banged her knee against something green and metallic.

It was a toolbox, the word 'Vaughn' was engraved on the side, "Vaughn! I found it!" Vaughn, who was investigating in a nearby bush, popped his head out. "Really?"

He jumped out of the bush and walked over and took the toolbox out of Chelsea's hands. "It-It is mine. Thank you so- I mean . . .thanks, you can go now." He said with a huff and tucked the box under his arm.

Chelsea's smile faltered for a minute, "Your welcome . . .I'll just go." She sighed and began walking towards the beach to collect seaweed from the boulder. Later that day she lied down on the cool sand and enjoyed the sun.

She soon dozed off.

Footsteps crunching on the white sand woke Chelsea up. She stretched and settled in a sitting position and looked around. Vaughn was standing on her left side, looking down at her with those mysterious purple eyes of his.

"Vaughn?" Chelsea said in surprise.

"Hey. . . You mind if I sit here for a while?" He asked pointing to the side of Chelsea. She nodded happily and he sat with a grunt.

They sat in silence watching the waves break against the shore. The smell of salt water permeating the air. Chelsea broke the awkwardness, "I really like the island, it's so peaceful."

Vaughn nodded, "Yeah . . .there used to be more people, except Lilly went off to find treasure on Volcano Island and never came back. And Mark and Sabrina got married and moved away." He said the last part with a hint of sadness in his voice.

Chelsea felt uncomfortable for a while, why was Vaughn so sad that someone got married? Unless . . .

" Hey, Vaughn?" She said.

"Yeah?"

"Did you . . .like Sabrina?" Chelsea asked innocently.

"Yeah, she was my best friend . . ."

"Um . . .no I meant romantically."

Vaughn widened his eyes in shock, "What? Of course not. She was . . .just someone I could talk to easily. But, I never liked her that way; she was too tame for my tastes."

"Oh." Chelsea said letting out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Vaughn raised an eyebrow at her, "Why did you ask? You jealous or something?" He chuckled.

Chelsea blushed angrily, "Hey, who was jealous when I gave Pierre a little hug, huh? Who blew their top?"

". . .What's wrong with me being jealous?" Vaughn yelled back. That answer shocked both of them.

Vaughn blushed red, he tugged his hat over his eyes, "Um . . .what I mean is . . ." Chelsea felt happy,

"You were jealous?"

"I didn't say that!"

"But you did."

"I did not!"

"You just said!"

"ARRGH! Are you always this infuriating?"

Chelsea laughed, "I'm just teasing, Vaughn. Come on, lighten up. We're friends right?"

Vaughn glared at her, "I still don't like you. . ." Chelsea rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, whatever cowboy." He shoved her so she was pushed on her back.

"Hey!"

"Hmm? Oh I'm sorry farm girl, did you fall?" He sneered. Chelsea shot up and pushed him back, Vaughn fell back and caught himself with his hands; his hat was askew on his head.

"OOF!"

"Ha, take that!"

". . .Oh now it's personal."

They continued their fight, pushing and shoving each other in the soft sand, the sun scorching their eyes. Vaughn finally managed to pin Chelsea under him, "Got ya!" He shouted triumphantly.

Chelsea was breathing hard from their play fight, Vaughn was exhausted too, his face covered in a thin sheen of sweat. His head was shielding the sun from her eyes; his hat was on the side of them, covered in sand. Vaughn's silvery hair was ruffled and full of sand, blowing softly in the wind; his eyes looked beautiful and gleamed brightly.

Their faces were mere inches from touching, their breath mixing in the air between them.

Vaughn had a faraway look in his eyes; Chelsea was still smiling and laughing between breaths of air. Vaughn began leaning closer to her, Chelsea stopped laughing and just stared.

Vaughn looked like he was off in his own little world.

"Vaughn? Are you ok?" Chelsea said just as their noses were about to touch, Vaughn snapped back to reality. "Huh? Whoa." Vaughn scrambled up in a sitting position and kept his eyes focused on the ground, his face was bright red.

"Umm, we should be getting back huh? It's almost three." Chelsea said as she pointed back to the town. She shook her bandanna of any remaining sand and placed it on her head again. Vaughn nodded and shook his hat and began walking back to the town.

-Ten minutes later-

Natalie spotted Chelsea and Vaughn first, "Hey Chelsea, what have you-"She surveyed their clothes and smirked, "Hmm, sand, messed up clothes, and . . . oooh Vaughn! No need to tell me what you kids did."

Both Chelsea and Vaughn felt their faces go red again, "SHUT UP NATALIE! IT'S NOT THAT!" They shouted at the same time. Natalie snickered some more and went inside her house.

"Sometimes, I really hate that girl." Vaughn muttered.

"Who DON'T you hate in this town?" She asked. Vaughn was about to reply, but seemed to think better of it, "Yeah, good point. See ya." He headed off to the animal shop and leaned against the doorframe.

Chelsea waved at him and walked home. Hachi ran up and greeted her with enthusiastic barking and panting. Beth walked into the barn with a contented moo. The fields were still glistening with the remains of the morning watering.

Hachi and Chelsea walked into the house and got ready for bed. Climbing into bed, Hachi jumped on the pillow with her and started to fall asleep. "Night Hachi." She said before sleep claimed her.

-A few hours later-

Something prodded her in her side. "Hachi?" She groaned as she sat up. It was around midnight.

She rubbed her eyes and saw, not Hachi, but a tiny little elf like person in red clothes sitting on her. "Hi!" It said. Chelsea responded like any normal person would if a strange creature introduced itself in their bed.

"KYAAAAHHH!"

The little elf guy covered his ears with his hands, "Owwie! Do you humans always have to scream that high?" Chelsea calmed herself down, "Who- What are you?"

The little guy brushed off his clothes and tried to stand regally before her. It's a hard job if your only 6 inches high.

"I'm Alan, the Harvest Sprite. There used to be more of my kind but, there are only 7 on this island so far . . ." Alan said with a note of loneliness in his voice. He recovered quickly, "And you have been chosen by the goddess to help save the islands!"

"Wait; is this a dream or something? How can I save a few islands? I'm a farmer, I farm not raise islands." Chelsea yawned. The sprite rolled his eyes, "First." He pinched Chelsea.

"Ouch!"

"This is not a dream; second, I'm just here to pass on her message. Next week Tuesday the Goddess wants you to travel to Volcano Island and find Ben, the Harvest Sprite of water." Alan continued.

"I can't, who will look after Beth and the chickens, and Hachi!" Chelsea argued. Alan beamed, "I will, I am an expert at taking care of crops and animals." Chelsea thought about it, "Ok, and one more favor, if I'm not back by Wednesday . . .you must tell Julia or Vaughn where I went, ok?"

Alan held out his hand, "Deal?" Chelsea shook it, "Deal, now let me sleep." Alan waved goodbye and disappeared in a blink of an eye.

"Better be a damn dream . . ." She muttered as she fell asleep, the sprites words still echoing through her ears


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

(Vaughn)

"Idiot! Idiot! IDIOT!" Vaughn shouted to himself as he kicked a few lone green herbs across the town. That day at the beach, how he almost...oh crap, that WAS close.

He stomped the little pieces of plant life and sat down hard on the gravelly road. He absently brushed his hat, as if it still contained sand from rough housing with Chelsea.

Vaughn could still imagine every detail, the way her laugh sounded like little bells. Her rich, brown hair flowing around her head, the playful glint in her clear, deep blue eyes, even the sun sparkling on her porcelain skin . . .

And speak of the devil, "Morning, Vaughn!" Chelsea said. Vaughn turned; she was standing behind him, a grin plastered on her face like always.

Vaughn stood and slapped the tiny rocks that started to embed in his jacket, "Hi. . ." He mumbled. He glanced at her face, and then stared. Her smile today was too over cheerful, even for her. Her blue eyes were wavering with a sort of inner worry.

"Is . . . everything ok, Chelsea?" He asked. Chelsea's smile wavered, "Um . . . No, you don't have to worry, ok?" Vaughn suddenly had a flash back at the beach, the reaction that Chelsea had on now matches the expression she has now.

"Well . . . I was wondering something though, mind if I ask, Vaughn?" Chelsea asked sincerely. 'Oh God, she's going to ask if I LIKE her. I'm doomed.' Vaughn thought, as he blushed slightly.

"Yeah?"

"How come you hardly ever smile?" Chelsea asked, managing to put her smile back in place. "Huh?" Vaughn said dumbly, recovering from his near mess up.

"Yeah. How come you hardly smile, you know." She demonstrated by smiling, teeth and all, it made her look...pretty, well prettier than usual.

". . . Why should I? There's nothing in life to smile about. Illness. War. Death. Hatred. Sadness. There's nothing that should make anyone even grin, much less smile." Vaughn sneered.

"Love."

"What?"

Chelsea repeated herself, "Love. You forgot about love, the most important thing in life that there is. Love for your friends, your family, that special someone. Why do you think I always smile?" To prove her point, she flashed her blinding white smile. Vaughn blushed.

"But . . .your here with me right now . . . how can you smile . . .unless . . ." Vaughn stuttered.

Chelsea laughed, "That I feel love for you? Of course I do! You're my friend, like how Julia is my friend, and Elliot, Natalie, Witch Princess, Eliza... I have love for all my friends, so of course that includes you too, Vaughn!"

Vaughn calmed down. 'Friend . . .Love?' An ache started in his chest, that one, simple word: Love. He remembered that someone, maybe his mom, long ago told him what love really meant.

'Love is when you feel you can't breathe, your heart races when that special someone is even in the same room is you. When all you can think about is that person, and if, only if that person feels that same way, you'll know you have found real happiness.' Those were the words that Vaughn nearly forgot. He now knew for certain that the woman who told him all of that, was his mother . . . talking about his father before he died in a stampede from wild cows.

Was that it? Did he . . . love Chelsea? No, that's idiotic . . . impossible. "Vaughn? You've been spacing out, you ok?" Chelsea asked, her voice heavy with concern. He looked at her, REALLY looked at her.

Her full lashes, how her face seemed to glow softly in the morning sun. Blue eyes, clear as water. Smelling like fresh earth and flowers, with a hint of milk. How her clothes, even though ordinary and nothing designer, seemed to make her body have just the right structure. He reached out a hand and gently moved some hair out of her face. As soon as his finger made contact with her being, a tingle of electricity arched through his fingertips. Surging through his entire being.

He realized what he was doing and instantly pulled back, "Umm, you had a. . . leaf in your hair." He lied.

Chelsea cocked her head to one side in confusion, "Ok. Well, I gotta get going Vaughn, I need to prepare." That spiked his interest, "For what?"

She looked shocked, "Oh, uh, nothing important . . . Uh, farming stuff, seeds, fertilizer, you know?"

Vaughn went back to guarding his emotions, "Oh, ok, see you . . ." Chelsea waved uncertainly at him than ran off, for the first time, he noticed a piece of paper in her hands.

Vaughn shrugged and headed down to the forest, where he could get some peace of mind.

-One hour later-

"Ahh, silence . . ." Vaughn sighed as he lay down under the canopy of trees, only faint sunlight shone through. A few wild dogs that he sometimes looked after were sound asleep in a furry heap near a log.

A nearby lake glistened in the daylight, he let his eyes wander across its shimmering surface. "Lalala . . .lala . . ." Vaughn shot up, a melodic voice was singing somewhere across the lake. Curious, he got up and began walking slowly around the perimeter of the lake, barely letting out a sound.

"The stars lean down to kiss you, while I lie awake and miss you. Pour me a heavy dose of atmosphere . . ." The voice continued to sing. Vaughn kept on stalking around the lake, intent on finding the singer. The person singing was even better than Lanna, and she used to be in the singing biz. " . . . I'd send a postcard to you dear, because I wish you were here . . ." Vaughn finally came to the other side of the lake.

A little black curtain was set up between two trees, his curiosity peaked and he peered through the curtain. The singer . . . was Chelsea.

" . . . But drenched in Vanilla Twilight, I'll sit on the front porch all night, waist deep in thought because when I think of you, I don't feel so alone . . . I don't feel so alone." Chelsea sang, her eyes closed, but opening now and then to scratch down some notes on her piece of paper.

Vaughn was captivated by her voice, like a bear in a trap. " . . . As many times as I blink, I'll think of you . . . tonight . . ." She suddenly stood up, her back still to Vaughn, in a late reaction he closed the curtain, but he soon realized that she hadn't even noticed him.

"When violet lights get brighter. And heavy wings grow lighter, I'll taste the stars and feel alive again. And I'll forget the world that I knew, but I swear I won't forget you. Oh if my voice could reach back through the past, I'd whisper in your ear...Oh, darling I wish you were here!" She ended the song on a strong note and sighed.

She started packing up and Vaughn knew that he had to get out of there before she saw him. He backed up to prepare to run for it, when he tripped on an overgrown root.

"Shit!"

He face planted on the hard earth, his head hit a rock and he blacked out.

-Twenty minutes later-

Vaughn awoke to a frantic Chelsea shaking him, "Vaughn! VAUGHN! Oh god are you alright! Oh no, please be ok, please!" He slowly opened his eyes, the pain was small, but pain was still pain.

Chelsea was standing over him, her eyes were moist with tears, one landed on his cheek. "Ow." He muttered, he managed to sit up. "Oh thank God, you're ok!" Chelsea cried, she wrapped him in a tight hug and buried her face in his chest.

She stiffened and pulled away before Vaughn could react, "S-sorry . . . I forgot how much you hate to be hugged, I-I was just so worried you were hurt." She stuttered. Vaughn felt warm inside, she worried about him?

"I'm fine . . . I just tripped." He felt his head, there was a tiny cut, but it wasn't deep and he could tell that the swelling was already going down. But when he removed his hand from his forehead, a green paste was on it, "What the . . . "

"Oh, that was some green herb paste to help with swelling. I learned how to mix it with my- I mean I learned it someplace." Chelsea said with a tired smile.

"Y-you did this . . . for me? Idiot . . . why?" He mumbled, his face was heating up. Chelsea smiled brighter, " I was worried when I found you passed out near the lake so I brought you into this clearing."

Vaughn looked around, the wild dogs were no longer sleeping, but staring intently at Chelsea. "Um, Chelsea? Aren't you scared of those dogs?" He asked.

Chelsea laughed, "What? Of course not? They may look dirty, and mean, but they're really sweet and nice." Vaughn chuckled softly, when he introduced Sabrina to the wild dogs, she shrieked and demanded that he take them away. He assumed that everyone felt that way, that they thought that just because an animal was dirty it was evil.

"Can you stand?" She offered her hand as she stood. He took it, tingles ran up his arm. He had to wonder if she felt that same thing . . . no, probably not.

She helped him up and they began walking to the animal shop. When Vaughn stepped in the shop, Mirabelle immediately began fussing over him, checking his cut, his clothes for tears. "Well, I gotta go, Hachi is waiting for me at home." Chelsea said.

Vaughn raised an eyebrow, "Hachi?"

Chelsea grinned, "My puppy. Bye Vaughn, hope you feel better." Vaughn wanted to say something, but he just stiffly nodded as she left. He collapsed on his hale bay with a sigh.

"So. You like her right?" Mirabelle said, trying not to laugh with hardly any luck.

Vaughn blushed, "I don't know . . . " He mumbled. Mirabelle turned her shocked gaze on him and broke into a smile, "Oohh! Your first love! Does Chelsea know? Ooo I'm so happy for you!" Vaughn sneered, " She is not my first love! I'm not capable of love, you idiot!"

Mirabelle threw her hands up in defeat, "Ok, ok, don't get your cowboy boots in a bunch. I'm going to go check on dinner." She waddled to the house section of the shop.

Vaughn buried his face in the hay. 'Maybe I do love her . . . I-I wouldn't mind actually . . .' He thought. He thought back to the dream of Chelsea kissing him, and, even though he rarely smiled, the memory brought a smile and a light blush to his face.

With a small gasp, he realized his heart rate had sped up a little, and that was just when he imagined her face.

"Oh . . .crap . . .I'm in love with Chelsea. No, no . . .impossible. . .is it?" Vaughn whispered softly, he turned to his side and tried to slow his beating heart.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

(Chelsea)

"Ok, Ok, I'm up, Hachi, get off." Chelsea complained as she pushed the floppy eared puppy off her chest. The dog growled defiantly and jumped off the bed, wagging his tail towards the door. Chelsea dressed and checked the calendar.

'Tuesday' The day that she was due to travel to Volcano Island and find Harvest Sprite Ben, the sprite of water. She gloomily went through her daily work, watering crops, feeding Beth, milking and brushing, feed and gather eggs from chickens, and finally letting her outside for Hachi to watch.

Chelsea had only a worn rucksack for travel. Inside was: Three chocolate bars, hammer, Watering can, and spare clothes(in case she decided to spend the night on the island.)

She waved goodbye to her puppy, who was fiercely guarding Beth from a butterfly that had fluttered too close. She turned towards the bridge and almost trampled on Alan.

"Ack! Don't squish me!" He wailed, Chelsea looked down and saw that her foot was hovering just two feet over the Harvest sprites head. "Oh! I'm sorry." She said, placing her foot safely away from the Harvest Sprite.

"It's ok, I'll help your cute little puppy with the farm till you return. Tata!" He waved once before he left in a tiny whirlwind of red sparkles.

Chelsea blinked, "Ok then...time to do some mining on Volcano Island."

She was stealthy and managed to pass by Taro and Felicia, they were arguing, unnoticed. She didn't want anyone stopping her, she knew that a girl named Lilly had been lost when she went searching for treasure and how she's been missing since.

She knew that if anyone knew where she was going, they would probably stop her. Yep, easier to leave unnoticed, it was better this way.

She made her way to the dock, where the man( She forgot his name) would take her to one of the other islands, Animal Island, Volcano Island, or Mushroom Island."

"Hi, can you take me to Volcano Island, today please?" She said to the friendly man in the crisp blue suit. The man nodded with a grin and Chelsea hopped on. The motorboat putted softly as it left the pier.

Volcano Island was in the far distance, and growing closer each minute. The Volcano belched smoke as the boat neared

-Three Hours later-

"ARRG! There's' no stupid sprite here! Dammit! I've been tricked." Chelsea screeched as she angrily kicked some little blobs of magma on the mine floor. It burst and turned into gelatin. Chelsea had made it to the 10th floor in the Volcano Island mine, and all she could find was a few rubies' and iron ore, but no Harvest Sprite. Her stamina was running low, her clothes were covered in black soot and rocks, her face was beaded with sweat.

"Help! Heeeellllpp meee!" A tiny voice squeaked near the staircase that led down. "The Sprite?" Chelsea wondered and headed down to the next level.

Once her eyes adjusted to the new darkness, she found that she wasn't the only one alone in the mine shaft. The usual x crevices which contained either a pitfall or a stream of water, a few ore rocks and magma blobs, scattered the floor. But right smack in the middle was a giant boulder the size of the animal shop. She peered closer and saw that something tiny was trapped under there.

"Waaaaahhh! ALAN! COLLIN! DAREN! EDGE! Someone, anyone. HEEELP MEEEEE!" Screamed the tiny figure, its tiny arms flailing like a dying fish.

Chelsea knelt down next to the tiny Sprite, it wore the exact same style of clothes as Alan, except the color was blue. "Hi there." She said cheerfully.

The Harvest Sprite stopped squirming and stared up at her in wonder, "Oh no. A giant is here to kill meee! Nooo! Have mercy, Miss Giant!" Chelsea laughed and patted his tiny head. "You must be Ben, right? Alan told me to come and find you."

Ben smiled broadly, "Yay! I can be free again! I've been trapped under this stupid rock for months, without me, the waves will never be calm and storms are rampant. Can you please break this boulder so I can be free?" He looked at her hopefully.

Chelsea swallowed hard, she had so little stamina left, she was struggling by just calming down the sprite alone, if she broke that boulder, she might collapse. But . . . she couldn't leave the poor Sprite.

"Ok . . . " She sighed. She drew her hammer from her backpack, Ben squeaked in surprise and cowered, his tiny hands shielding his eyes. She hefted up over her head, and swung. 

*Bash*, a second time, *Bash*, a third, *Bash*. Sweat was trickling into her eyes, her breathing was quick and ragged.

The Boulder looked like it was about to give way, one more swing outta do it. She could feel her stamina depleting at an alarming rate.

*SMASH!* The boulder split in two, freeing the Sprite.

Ben jumped up and down frantically, "FREEDOM! Hurray! Thank you miss- OH NO!" He screamed.

Chelsea was on her knees, the corners of her vision was darkening, that last swing used up the last of her strength. "Ben . . . Can . . . You . . . Can you get us both out of here?" She gasped and clutched her side in pain as she struggled to fill her lungs with air, she was trying to keep from collapsing.

Ben looked grief stricken, "I-I don't have the power . . . I'll go get help, It will take a while, but please hold on miss! I'll be back with help. Just please hold on!" And with that, the Harvest Sprite disappeared, leaving a puddle of water behind in his wake.

Chelsea could barely sit up straight, and she landed on her side. Shivering in exhaustion, she didn't know what would happen if she passed out here in a live Volcano Island.

"Fight . . . Must . . . try . . ." She said, her voice little more than a hoarse whisper. Her tongue was thick in her mouth. She thought back to last week Thursday when she had found Vaughn unconscious.

But that was a forest where anyone from the town could come and help. If she fainted here, no one would know where to look, she would be forgotten. People might not even care much, except for Natalie and Julia and Pierre, but that's it.

She coughed and tasted the coppery taste of blood. Her vision began to blur and dim with her failing energy.

'I . . . I can't stay awake."

A tear escaped her eye, it trickled down her face, like a soft caress. Darkness closed in on her, enveloping her in its cold embrace, stealing the remaining consciousness she so desperately tried to hold on to.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

(Vaughn)

"Ok, Mirabelle, that's the last one, can I go on break now?" Vaughn said nonchalantly as he placed the last box in storage.

"Alright. You can have your break if you want, thanks for helping." Mirabelle said as she polished the counter.

Vaughn grunted and went outside to loiter. He leaned against the wall and let his mind wander. It was already 9, funny, Chelsea was normally here by now. He blushed, "Why do I care . . ."

He already knew the answer, he was worried about her. His eyes wandered till it rested on Julia and Elliot. They were talking closer than usual, Elliot's glasses were steamed and Julia was blushing a brilliant pink color.

'Eh? . . . What's going on here?'

Elliot raised a hand and placed it behind Julia's neck and brought his mouth down on hers in a kiss. Vaughn widened his eyes as Julia closed hers and threw her arms around Elliot's neck, making the kiss last longer.

Vaughn wanted to puke, but it also made him slightly envious, slightly.

When they pulled away, even Vaughn could see the love sparking in their eyes, the way Elliot was confident in what he had just did. And how Julia was grinning ear to ear. He couldn't take that much happiness so he simply pulled his hat down low over his eyes. "Yo! OLD BUDDAYYY!" Shouted an all too familiar voice.

He tipped his hat up so he could just see the guy in front of him, ". . . Hello Denny." He mumbled. Denny smiled like he just won one million bucks, "Todays the day!"

"For what?" Vaughn asked. Denny smiled even broader, "I'm going to ask Lanna to go out with me! I'm so pumped! Yeah!" He said as he fist pumped the air.

Vaughn's eye twitched, why did it seem that people were becoming couples? It wasn't that he was jealous or anything, just annoyed. "Congrats . . . " He said halfheartedly.

First Sabrina and Mark, and now apparently Julia and Elliot, and Denny and Lanna are going to just start out. Vaughn wondered what would happen if everyone paired up, would he be the one left alone, probably, Chelsea might very well fall for someone else, like Will or Shea. He certainly never gave her a reason to like him.

'I have love for everyone, so of course that includes you too, Vaughn.' Chelsea had said, Vaughn still didn't know what that was supposed to mean . . .oh well.

"Excuse me, sir." A voice squeaked, surprising him, "Huh?" He looked around, Elliot and Julia were gone and so was Denny.

He took a step, and heard a crunch and a strangled, "Owwie . . . " He lifted his foot and yelled in surprise. A tiny little . . . person? In red clothes was rubbing its head, a red welt forming matched his tiny clothes.

"Hey! What's the big idea? Trying to crush a tiny defenseless Harvest Sprite. I know Judo! Huwahh." The Sprite demonstrated by doing the crane stance. "I thought you said you were defenseless?" Vaughn sneered.

"Well, yeah, but-ERRRG! Never mind that, are you Vaughn?" It asked, dusting off its clothes in the process.

"Yeah, who wants to know . . . ?" He said.

"Me! My name is Alan, the Harvest Sprite of Ranching and Farming, and a coproducer of fire." Alan said proudly.

"What's that got to do with me?" Vaughn said, losing interest rapidly.

"Listen, Chelsea told me-" Vaughn cut in, "Wait Chelsea? What happened to her?" The Sprite stamped his foot angrily, "Let me finish!" Alan whined.

Shooting a dirty look at Vaughn he continued, "Chelsea was sent on an important mission from the Harvest Goddess, to search for my little brother, Ben, The Harvest Sprite of Water. She was supposed to be back by this morning, but only Ben came back. He said she was in danger and was on the verge of collapse. I would help, but I can't, we Sprites don't have the privilege of transporting people from place to place. I remember that she told me to tell either you or Julia where she is, she seems to trust you two the best. Julia was having a little well...smoochie, smoochie session with a spectacled boy so I came to you. Done."

Vaughn was openmouthed in horror, Chelsea was sent on an important mission and now she might be hurt? He couldn't imagine something horrible to happen to her, he needed to find her, and fast.

"Where did she go, Sprite?" He asked, a tinge of malice tainting his voice. "Volcano Island, The 11th level." Alan said, he waved and stuck 'the finger' before he disappeared in a tiny whirlwind of red sparks.

"Chelsea . . . I'll find you." Vaughn said through clenched teeth, he raced without hesitation, to the pier.

-Twenty minutes later-

Vaughn finally arrived on Volcano Island, leaping off the boat in a single bound. He raced to the entrance. He avoided the magma blobs and ore rocks and headed straight for the flights of stairs leading down.

He finally reached the 11th floor, and it was trashed. Magma blobs were piles of disgusting gelatin, two halves of a giant rock was lying in the middle of the room. His eyes scanned the room till his eyes rested on an unmoving form, familiar, with a red bandanna . . .

"Chelsea!" He yelled as he raced over, he turned her over on her back, her head lolled to the side. He checked her pulse, it was beating faintly. "Wake up! Damn it, wake up!" Vaughn shouted as he shook her unmoving form.

She made no response. Enraged he picked her up and held her in his arms, she was surprisingly light, but she still had some weight on her. "You Idiot, going off and almost getting yourself killed . . ." He choked back a sob, when she still made no comment.

Chelsea's chest rose and fell gently, she was still breathing, but for how long? He slung the rucksack that was lying beside Chelsea and slung it over one shoulder. He started running up the flights of stairs, holding both Chelsea and the bag. He reached the exit and placed Chelsea gently on the boat. She made a quiet murmuring when he climbed in.

The boat sped back to shore, Vaughn had never felt more protective of anyone in his entire life. "I guess...my feelings for you...are more real than I imagined." Vaughn murmured softly to the unconscious Chelsea.

They reached the shore and Vaughn slung the rucksack over his shoulder and picked up Chelsea in his arms again.

Denny, Lanna, Pierre, Julia, and the Witch Princess were loitering around the beach. They all raced over when they saw Chelsea and Vaughn.

"CHELSEA! OH NO!" Denny cried.

"Chels! Vaughn what happened?" Lanna wailed.

"NO! WHAT HAPPENED? None of my foresight prepared me for this!" The Witch fretted.

"Gak! She needs medicine! I'll whip up some!" Pierre offered.

"Chelsea! Oh my God! Is she going to be ok?" Julia shouted.

"SHUT UP!" Vaughn snapped, his eyes blazing, everyone stopped talking at once. "She just fainted, I'm going to . . .take her to her house, I know what to do, so everyone just, BACK OFF!" He sneered at the end and stomped away from all of them, following the path to Chelsea's home.

-One hour later-

"You are NOT leaving me all alone . . . I won't allow it!" He shouted as he sat by Chelsea's bed, he had placed her on the bed and wrapped her in sheets. A cold compress was on her head.

He hesitantly held her hand, which was steadily getting warmer, which was a good thing. Chelsea murmured something under her breath.

"Come on, open . . . your beautiful blue eyes, come on! Don't be like Denny and pretend you don't hear me." Vaughn complained.

"Denny . . . Fisherman . . . friend..." Chelsea murmured. Vaughn stared, she seemed to be coming to, but if she responded to Denny's name . . .

"Um . . . Julia?" He said.

"Julia . . . farmhand . . . in love with Elliot . . . Best friend . . . " Chelsea murmured slightly louder than before.

He decided to take a gamble, "Vaughn . . ." He said.

"Vaughn . . . Loner . . . doesn't like me very much . . . don't know why . . .Best friend . . .Love . . . him . . . " Chelsea said, clearer but still weak.

Vaughn caught his breath, "Love . . . like . . . Love as a friend, or Love as . . . " His face was beet red. Chelsea's' eyelids fluttered open, Vaughn released her hand in a heartbeat.

She sat up and stretched, "Oh God . . . I was having this weird dream and I kept on hearing all of my friends names-" She cut off when her eyes locked with Vaughn, "Not a dream . . . I really passed out?"

Vaughn let his anger wash over him, "Yes you passed out! I had to carry you back to your house, I was worried sick." He paused, he blushed again.

Chelsea managed one of her shining smiles, "Aww, you did all of that . . . for me? Thank you Vaughn!" Vaughn grunted, he tugged his hat low over his eyes. Chelsea jumped out of bed and stretched some more, "I'm fine now."

Vaughn nodded stiffly and headed towards the door, until Chelsea called him back, "Wait! I have to thank you properly." He turned around and tipped his hat up so he could see her fully. She stood to his left.

"What?" He said, trying to say it casually. She tiptoed and kissed him lightly on his cheek, "Thank you . . . " She whispered. Vaughn was going red again, Chelsea went down. "Bye, see you tomorrow?"

"Idiot . . . " He murmured and exited the house. Once the door shut, he could feel something trickling out of his nose, he wiped: Blood. He blushed some more and headed to Mirabelle's shop.

'I'm too old to have nosebleeds . . . "

-Ten minutes later-

He flopped on his hay bale and didn't regard anyone, except Julia when she woke him for dinner. They all ate in silence, Vaughn absently touching his cheek where Chelsea had kissed.

Her tiny mouth pursing gently on his rough cheek, slightly moist. The memory would always be fresh in his mind. "Ok, Mirabelle's gone, so dish. What happened at Chelsea's, is she ok?" Julia inquired.

"Nothing . . . She's fine, she was just tired is all..." Vaughn muttered. Julia peered closer at him, "What?" He said irritably. Julia gasped in astonishment, "There's some dried blood under your nose!" Her expression turned to devilish curiosity, "What did you two doooo?"

Vaughn blushed, "NOTHING! SHE JUST KISSED ME ON THE CHEEK, OK?" He stiffened, Julia was slack jawed with shock. ". . . Umm, I'm heading to bed." He got up and hurried away from the table, Julia pursued him.

"Oh no you don't Cowboy, I want details." She laughed. "Go away!" He snapped as he jumped on his hay bale and pretended to sleep. Julia sighed and sat by him, "You just don't know when to admit you're in love, huh?"

Vaughn sat up a little and glared, "I do NOT love her, ok? We just...might be friends, ok? And by the way I saw you making out with the dweeb, and you can do way worse."

"WHAT?"

"Sure . . .but not by much, isn't Elliot kind of bottom of the barrel?"

Julia wholloped him on the head and stomped away. Vaughn sighed and remembered the way Julia and Elliot had kissed with such love...he went to sleep wondering if maybe Chelsea and him would be like that one day.

That night he dreamed of Chelsea kissing him on the lips instead of his cheek. He didn't yet determine if that was a good thing, or bad.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

(Chelsea)

"Ahh! Morning Hachi. Time to get to work boy." Chelsea yawned. She pulled on some new work clothes, same style, but different colors. Except for her red bandanna, which she would never change.

She looked at the calendar and dropped her brush in shock. Today was spring 20th,Thursday. Her eyes began to water as old memories from years past came rushing back to her at gale force. Her mother. A car. The funeral. All her fault. That fateful day when she lost her mother when she was only 6, this was the ten year mark.

Chelsea calmed herself down and put on a brave face and started her daily work, though her heart just wasn't in it today. She picked the last of the strawberries and turnips and hacked the rest with her Scythe. Beth mooed unhappily when Chelsea brushed her, as if sensing her master's distress. Chelsea smiled sadly.

She sent Hachi to watch Beth and threw the produce in the shipping bin. Chelsea made her way to the town and instantly ran into Julia.

"Chelsea! Just the person I wanted to see." Julia said with a smile. "Morning Julia, what's up?" She said cheerfully.

"I heard you and Vaughn did the K-I-S-S-I-N-G! Is it truuueee?" She pestered. Chelsea turned red, "What? We did not "kiss"! I just gave him a little peck on the cheek to thank him for helping me when I was unconscious."

Julia laughed, "I know, I know. That wasn't the reason I wanted to see you, I already knew you kissed him on the cheek, hey Chels...do you like Vaughn?"

Chelsea smiled, "Of course! I like him, and you, and Pierre, and Mirabelle, and Natalie..." Julia cut her off with an irritated wave of her hand, "Never mind. Anyway, can you come to the animal shop? Vaughn's' been acting crabby all morning."

Chelsea's smile faltered and she shook her head, "No. I'm not in the mood today...ok?" But Julia was persistent, "But, why?"

She was losing her patience, "I just don't want to talk about it, ok?"

"But Chels..."

"I SAID I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!" Chelsea screamed. She was so loud that Vaughn walked out from the animal shop to see what all the commotion was about.

"Can you keep it down? Some people are trying to work-" He trailed off when he saw the angry expression Chelsea had glued on her face and Julia's' slightly hurt one. Chelsea whipped around, fighting to keep her tears at bay.

"Umm, I have to go." She said, as she started walking towards the forest. "Chelsea, wait!" Vaughn shouted, but it was too late, she was already racing towards the forest, the canopy of trees was already enveloping her.

She bumped into the native Shea who was hanging around a tree. "Hello Chelsea. Day good for you?" He said kindly. Chelsea just shook her head and ran farther away, leaving a confused Shea in the dust.

She came to a wide opening, which contained a lake bigger than the one at the church. In her anger she picked up a Moondrop flower and tossed it in the lake, it made a loud *Ker plunk!*.

Chelsea sank to her knees and still fought her waves of misery. Bits and pieces of her memory kept coming back to her.

A little girl on the phone, 'Mommy! I miss you, can you please come home early? I wanna see you.' The girl whimpered. The voice on the phone sounded tired,' Honey, you know Mommy works on the weekdays, I'll see you this weekend.'

'But, Mommy! I want to see you...I'm lonely and Daddy is busy with the house!' The girl continued to whine. The voice on the phone sighed, 'Ok, sweetie, I'll come home today...just for you, my special little Chelsea.'

Little Chelsea beamed, 'Yay! Bye, bye Mommy! I love you!' Her mother laughed, 'I love you too Chelsea, Bye, bye. *Click'

Flash forward and the memory of a car crash filled her mind. The smell of gasoline, the scattered grease stained pieces of machinery, the body of her mother... 'MOMMY! WAKE UP! Don't leave me! MOMMY!' Chelsea had wailed, trying to break away from her father's restraining hold on her. The police declared it a hit and run. Her mother's body was being lifted into an ambulance.

'Chelsea...she's' gone.' Her father said, trying to let her down gently. 'Nooo! She can't be dead, she just c-can't be! It's my entire fault! MOMMY! I WANT MY MOTHER!' She had screamed while she cried desperately for her mother.

Her father's face was streaked with tears, 'Chelsea...'they both collapsed in tears together.

A funeral was planned a few days later, murmurings that people thought were silent enough that a six year old wouldn't hear filled the air.

'Her daughter just wanted her mother home...but not like this.'

'That little girl should have just waited, Sophia would have LIVED!'

'Shh, she'll hear you.'

'Poor thing...she probably blames herself.'

'She should, it's all her fault that her mother is dead.'

Chelsea finally gasped, back to the present. Someone was tapping her shoulder. She looked in front of her and saw the most beautiful woman she had ever seen, well maybe besides her mother.

She had warm rich brown eyes and full lashes. Her hair was in plaits and was the color of a field in summer. Skin like marble and a dress that flowed around her ankles in a sort of see through fabric that still covered the woman up.

The woman grinned, "Finally, I got your attention. Now let's see(ahem.) Dum dada Daaaa! I'm the Harvest Goddess! Thank you so much for giving me that offering of moonflower and rescuing my dear Harvest Sprite Ben! He's such a trouble maker. Always trying to find ways to cause mischief, but often getting caught in the act.

"Uh...Um..." Chelsea said brilliantly. The goddess patted Chelsea like she was a startled animal.

"It's alright, I just wanted to thank you, I must leave now. Tata." The goddess disappeared, leaving Chelsea all alone again.

Chelsea sighed and sat on the cool earth, she would never forget how her mothers' death was all her fault.

"Chelsea? What are you doing here?" Said a familiar and gruff voice.

She turned around to see Vaughn, looking at her with his usual sneer in place. "Nothing..." She said and sat with her back to him again.

"And why did you ignore me when I called out to you in the animal shop earlier? Now THAT made me pissed off." Vaughn said nonchalantly.

She stood, her back still to him, "Excuse me?" She said, her teeth grinding. Vaughn repeated himself, "You ignored me and made me pissed, what don't you get? Jeez."

Chelsea pivoted on her left foot and glared at him right in his purple iris, "I made YOU pissed? Well EXCUSSSSE Me! I'm just not having the best frickin day of my life so, JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" She screeched. His eyes widened in surprise.

Chelsea gasped, her hands were clenched and shaking at her sides, "I-I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." Tears began trickling down her face and she ran from him so he wouldn't her her cry.

"Chelsea!" Vaughn shouted, but Chelsea just kept running, trying to keep her tearstained face out of sight. She was suddenly grabbed by the back of her jacket and nearly slammed into a tree, her back aching from the harsh throw against bark.

Vaughn was glaring down at her, his eyes filled to the brim with rage. "What the hell was that?" Chelsea couldn't hold it in any longer, her tears broke free, a strangled sob escaped her throat. Vaughn released his hold and she sank to the ground, her heart wrenching sobs echoed.

"I'm sorry, I just...(sob) I'm so sorry I yelled at you, Vaughn! I didn't mean it!" Vaughn knelt down, a worried expression in his eyes.

"Chelsea...what happened?" He asked softly, Chelsea sniffled, those three words were the first things he said to her that wasn't full of anger, hate, confusion, or boredom.

She soon found herself spilling everything to him, her mother's death day, how she was to blame, how everyone in her family besides her father and step mom hated her, and how she felt like she had been abandoned by her mother.

Vaughn just nodded through it all, listening with full interest. He had scooted beside Chelsea and allowed her to lean her head on his shoulder, as he absently stroked her hair to calm her down.

"You're not alone...my mom abandoned me to Mirabelle when my dad died...I was only eight. And...I'm sure you weren't to blame, it was just some freak accident that killed your mother, not you, Chelsea." Vaughn said quietly once Chelsea's sobs subsided and turned into quiet hiccups.

They just sat there, talking about how each of them weren't at fault. Each of them calming the other down. Chelsea felt better and told Vaughn that she was.

He nodded gruffly and stood, helping her up. When their hands touched, a shock of electricity shocked her, coursing through her entire being. Vaughn blushed and cleared his throat.

Chelsea wondered if he felt the electricity that surged between them just now.

They walked back to the village in silence. Charlie and Eliza were playing tag, and Eliza was throwing a tantrum on how she didn't want to be it. Chen and Gannon were going over plans on how to renovate the general store.

"Um, hey listen, Chelsea...when you kissed me on the cheek the other day, what was that for?" Vaughn asked innocently. Chelsea smiled, "OH that was for helping me when I was unconscious, I don't remember anything besides passing out."

Vaughn let out a relieved breath of air, "Oh. Ok." She glanced at him and saw that his face was light pink. Chelsea felt the urge to giggle but restrained herself.

They came to her house. "Well, here we are." She said, "Thanks for walking me home, Vaughn!"

Vaughn slammed a hand on one side of her, and the other hand on her other side, which made their faces inches apart.

Chelsea blushed, "Wha? Vaughn are...are you ok?" Vaughn's face was full of an intense hunger.

His eyes were slightly dilated, like he had a strong cup of coffee recently. His breath filled her nose, surprisingly sweet, like rich honey and fodder. Their eyes locked and Chelsea found herself being swept away by the warmth in his eyes.

He looked like he would do something, but he pulled away from her, his face was red, and his eyes were wild.

He tipped his hat low over his blushing face, "Bye, see you next week, Chelsea..." Chelsea waved to him as Vaughn wiped his nose and walked away, muttering something incoherently under his breath.

Chelsea brought Hachi in and changed for bed. She flopped on the fluffy mattress with a sigh.

She took off her bandanna and looked at it fondly, this was the last gift she had ever received from her mother before her death.

Chelsea gently tucked it under her pillow. She fell asleep soon afterwards. Her dream was vivid and confusing. It showed her and Vaughn sitting under a full moon, the night was speckled with stars.

Vaughn looked at her with a smile on his lips, something she had never seen before. "Beautiful night...Beautiful girl." Chelsea looked around, seeing no one her face flamed, he was talking about her! A comet shot across the sky. Vaughn looked at her with the same longing that she saw in his face a few hours earlier.

He brushed some hair from her face and leaned in close, his lips barely touching hers as he whispered, "I love you."

-one minute later-

Chelsea shot up, her face was still warm to the touch. "What the..." Hachi growled in his sleep and twitched his leg. She shakily touched her lips, the dream seemed so real.

She shook her head. No, Vaughn hardly liked her, much less loved her...right? She thought about it, and wondered how she felt about Vaughn herself.

She sighed, dismissing the dream as a weird occurrence and tried to banish the dream from her restless dreaming.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

(Vaughn)

"Chelsea and Vauughn sittin in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love-" Eliza sang before Vaughn cut her off, "Shut up."

"Then comes marriage..."

"Cut it out!"

"Then here comes Vaughn and Chelsea with a baby carriage, yay!" Eliza sang, clapping her hands enthusiastically when she finished. Vaughn glowered at her and she shrieked and ran to the Carpenters.

Vaughn blushed angrily, if Chelsea found out that Eliza was singing THAT kind of song about them...oh god. It had been a week after Vaughn had almost kissed Chelsea at her door, summer was just around the bend, and festivals would start up again for sure, including the ones that required dates.

Darkness enveloped him, "The hell?" He said.

"Guess whooo!" Said a familiar cheery voice. Vaughn sighed, "Hello, Chelsea, take your hands off my eyes...NOW."

The hands removed from his eyes and Vaughn turned to see a pouting Chelsea, "Aww... you're a real kill joy sometimes."

"It's my job..." He said bluntly.

Chelsea rolled her eyes, "Whatever, hey, did you know I won the animal contest earlier with Beth?"

Vaughn snorted, "Oh, did you compete yourself?"

Chelsea stuck out her tongue, "Oh shut up."

A boat horn sounded in the distance, Chelsea and Vaughn turned their attention on the harbor. A large white boat was sailing in. It had diamonds in the windows, a gold trim and sparkled in the sun more than that annoying vampire in that movie Vaughn forgot.

Once the boat docked a stairway ascended from it. Vaughn and Chelsea walked to see who would come off.

A young man, with blond hair and white clothes walked down with the grace of a peacock. "Ahh! Great to be back on these marvelous islands." The man said when his shoes hit the sand.

Vaughn groaned, Will had sailed back home, but now he had returned? Will was practically the bane of Vaughn's entire existence. "Who's that?" Chelsea whispered. "Nobody important..." He sneered.

Will had spotted them and was strutting toward them with a wide grin plastered on his face, "Vaughn! I haven't seen you in ages. And...My, my, my, who is this beautiful young lady?" Will said with a sly wink to Chelsea.

She beamed, "I'm Chelsea." Will bowed, "I am William Terry Luce Andrew Karick Jonathan Toriji Hams Reding Roger Sazak Annick Primus Junior Darshanivack the third, but everyone calls me Will for short." He took Chelsea's hand and kissed it lightly.

She blushed slightly, Vaughn's eye started to twitch. 'This clown...who does he thinks he is?'

Vaughn stood between them, "Back off William..." Vaughn sneered. Will got up and brushed his sleeves with hurt pride.

"Geeze Vaughn, he was just saying hello." Chelsea said.

"Well, why does someone ALWAYS try and take my love away from me?" Vaughn accidently blurted out, he slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Your...what?" Chelsea said with a look of wonder on her face.

"I-I meant friend, yeah, friend..." Vaughn blustered, his face bright red.

Chelsea smiled, "Oh." Will just looked like a confused model at the wrong photo shoot as he glanced between them. "Chelsea! Could you help me for a sec?" Called a voice.

It was Natalie, she was motioning for Chelsea. "Gotta go, nice meeting you Will." Chelsea said politely. "Same for you, it is not often one meets a damsel as lovely as yourself." He said smoothly.

After Chelsea ran off, the playful glint in Will's eye turned hard and calculating. The smile disappeared from his lips. Vaughn glared, "Stay away from her..."

"Why? Oh...is she your girlfriend? Pity." Will said arrogantly. Vaughn blushed, "She is most certainly not!"

Will smiled wickedly, "Then...you won't mind if I pursue her then?"

Vaughn just stood there and gawked in surprise. Will sneered, "No answer? Fine. Let the games begin...friend." Will turned away and flounced purposely away from Vaughn.

-Three hours later-

"I'm telling ya old buddy, no one and I mean NO ONE is safe from Will when he sets his eye on a girl. He nearly stole Lanna away from me if I hadn't intervened." Denny said as he chomped on a tuna sandwich.

Him and Vaughn were lounging in the town bar, discussing the sudden appearance of Will. "Hmph...Well why would he choose Chelsea? She's plain, boring, unappealing, annoying..."

"You love her." Denny offered, Vaughn nodded without thinking, "Right...wait, what?"

Denny wiped his mouth and looked at Vaughn in the eye, "You heard me, and you love her. You know Mi amour, and all that fancy crap. I'm still surprised Chelsea hasn't figured it out yet."

Vaughn fumed, "I DO NOT LOVE HER! Dear lord, what would it take for you idiots to stop thinking that?"

"You love her."

"I do not..."

"You doooo."

"Denny...you may be my friend, but I swear, keep this up and I will use anything within my power...TO DESTROY YOU!" Vaughn threatened. His hands were balled fists at his sides. Denny laughed and then stopped when he saw the dangerous glint in Vaughn's eyes.

He sighed, "Just asking...metaphorically of course...what did you do to keep Lanna from being stolen from Will?"

Denny blushed, "I...um, told her that I was in love with her. Of course our relationship just started last week."

Vaughn stiffened, 'Tell Chelsea that I LOVE her? No, no way.' He stood up and said goodbye to Denny, before he exited, the door slammed him in the face. He stumbled back.

Will sneered at him from the doorframe, "My, someone's a tad clumsy, eh? No matter, I have no interest in you, I have my own problems." He walked gloomily to a bar stool and ordered a cup of green tea.

Vaughn scowled in his direction, "Problems? With what? Your father could buy and sell this island easily, what could YOU possibly be troubled about, you rich brat."

*Mumble, turned, muffle* Will muttered.

"What was that?"

"Chelsea...turned...down..."

"...Come again?"

Will whipped around, "Chelsea turned me down when I asked her for a date on the beach, ok?"

Will banged his head on the table in frustration; Denny snickered and held a thumb up in Vaughn's direction.

A tiny warmth spread throughout his body, Chelsea had turned down Mr. Perfect? Why? Vaughn exited before the atmosphere in the bar could get any more awkward. He found Chelsea sitting by herself near the river, dipping her toes in the cool water.

Chelsea turned around and smiled when Vaughn approached, "Hi Vaughn. What's up?" He shrugged and sat beside her and rubbed his forehead where a tiny bump was forming.

She saw the bump and gasped, "Oh my God! Vaughn, what the hell happened?"

"I...bumped into a door." He mumbled.

Chelsea face palmed herself, "Geez, every time I see you, you're either injured or in a bad mood."

"Says the girl who passed out at an active Volcano mine..." Vaughn whispered softly, which earned him a punch in the shoulder. "...Ow..."

She sighed, "Let me take a look at it." Vaughn grudgingly let her turn his face with her hands so she could inspect the bump. Her hands felt like smooth silk on his face, her face was hard with concentration, which Vaughn thought was mildly attractive.

Chelsea pulled back and smiled, "It's nothing. It should go down in a day or two with some help from some flower medicine."

Vaughn stared blankly at her, "Flower what?" Chelsea giggled, "My mom taught it to me, though it will make you red in the face for a moment." Vaughn shrugged, "Whatever...what do you need? Moondrop? Toyflower? Pinkcat?"

Chelsea smiled and slightly blushed, "Nope. It's something much simpler." Vaughn just blinked, "I don't get it..."

"Ok, first you make a wish that the person with the injury gets better." Chelsea clapped her hands together once in solemn prayer. 'Please let the bump on my friends head disappear.' She murmured, Vaughn nearly smiled, a tiny quirk at the edge of his lips.

Chelsea snapped back into her cheery self, "Ok, and finally-" She cradled his face in her hands. "Huh?" Vaughn said blankly.

"Hee, plant 'two lips' on the location of the injury." Chelsea leaned forward and pressed her lips softly on the tiny bump on his head. "Gah..." Vaughn gasped in shock. He could feel his face heating up at an uncontrollable rate; his heart was pumping double time.

Chelsea pulled away, "There. The bump should be gone by tomorrow, which is the first day of summer...hey your all red! Guess the side effect is working."

Vaughn pulled his hat over his face, "Idiot..."

Chelsea laughed some more.

"Wait...Isn't the beach festival tomorrow?" He asked. Chelsea nodded, "Yep, there's going to be games and fireworks. It's going to be awesome!"

'She turned me down when I asked her for a date at the beach, ok?' He remembered Will saying, she turned an invite to the beach festival down? This was the first year that he would actually be present for the festival. Interesting...

"Um...Chelsea?"

"Hmm?"

Vaughn blushed, "W-would you like to come with me to the beach festival? You know...as friends?" He waited for Chelsea to turn him down like Will, except it wasn't really a date invite, more like a friendship invite...right?

Instead Chelsea squealed happily, which surprised him, "You finally said we were friends! Oh, I'm so happy. Of course I will go with you to the beach festival tomorrow, friend!"

Vaughn exhaled in relief, "Ok...I'll see you tomorrow, then?" Chelsea nodded as Vaughn waved goodbye and went to the animal shop. What he saw was enough to make him hurl. Mirabelle must've stepped out for a moment because Elliot and Julia had to choose that moment to start making out.

They twisted their heads this way and that, kissing and holding. Elliot's hands were getting tangled in Julia's ponytail, And Julia was unbuttoning his shirt, one button at a time. Vaughn cleared his throat and the couple jumped apart in surprise, both red faced.

"Heh, heh, never know when to stop, eh dweeb?" Vaughn sneered.

Elliot wrung his hands, "Uh…I-I'll s-see you tomorrow Julia…" He gave Julia one last peck on the cheek before he scurried out the door, still redoing his buttons.

Julia basically gave Vaughn the cold shoulder the rest of the day, but it was ok, he hated her constant blabbering. He went to bed early so he would be well rested for tomorrow.

"I'll show Will…no one, and I mean no one, steals what's closest to my heart…" He muttered against the soft hay. 'Did I really just say that out loud?' He thought, though he had fallen asleep so dismissed his recent sentence a mishap


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

(Chelsea)

"No way! Vaughn asked you out?" Julia gasped. Chelsea laughed, "No, he just asked me to go with him as friends.

Julia snickered, "Sure, that's how it all starts." They were both wearing extra-large T-shirts over their bathing suits. Chelsea felt uncomfortable, she had only ever worn one pieces and she felt odd wearing a two piece bikini.

So far, the only people on the beach were her, Julia, Natalie, Lanna, and Pierre. Julia stretched, "God, Chels, do you have the time?" "Um...it's only ten, the festival starts at 12." She sighed.

"But Nataliee...I can't go anywhere without my haaat!" Pierre was complaining, he wore red shorts and his purple hat.

"You're going to lose it Pierre. Stop being such a baby and take it off!" Natalie shouted, her hands on her hips, she wore a yellow bikini.

"Nooo! You can't make meee..." Pierre yelled as he ran from her, gripping his hat like it was his lifeline.

"PIERRE! GET BACK HERE DAMMIT! YOU ACT LIKE SUCH A CHILD SOMETIMES!" Natalie screamed as she ran after him, kicking up sand in the process.

Julia sighed, "Those two make the weirdest couple on the island. Poor Pierre." A voice called from up the hill, "J-Julia!"

She turned around and beamed, "Elliot!" She ran up the hill to meet her boyfriend, she greeted him with a quick kiss on the lips. Chelsea waved when they came closer. "H-Hi Chelsea." "Hi Elliot." He wore purple Bermuda shorts and had contacts on, he looked pretty cute.

They loitered around chatting about how they loathed waiting for Mirabelle and Taro to set up. Chelsea checked her watch, it was around eleven and Vaughn still wasn't there.

'I guess...he doesn't consider me his friend after all.' She thought gloomily.

Suddenly, the crunch of sand made them turn around. Chelsea swore that her heart stopped for a moment. Vaughn was wearing simple black shorts and his signature cowboy hat. His chest was bare and had just the right amount of muscle.

He looked like he walked off a fashion magazine for beach fashion. His silvery hair shone in the late morning sunshine.

"Sorry I'm late..." He huffed.

"Hi Vaughn, I'm glad you could make it." Chelsea said cheerfully.

Vaughn grunted and walked over to their little group. Elliot shuffled his feet in the sand uncomfortably; Julia glared at Vaughn and laid a protective hand on Elliot.

"Ahh, looks like the gang is all here." Said a familiar and pompous voice. They turned and saw Will strutting toward them; his blond hair matched his yellow shorts and his blinding white smile. Vaughn and Elliot groaned softly when he approached.

"Hello Will." Chelsea said politely.

Will smiled, "Ahh, it is the lovely Chelsea again. I must say...even when you are wearing baggy clothes, you look simply stunning!" he winked.

"Um...thanks?" She said. Vaughn stiffened at her side; she could almost feel the hate waves washing over her. Chelsea knew better, behind Will's confident swagger, laid a boy who could get her seriously hurt, she remained unimpressed with his motives.

"Perhaps you will take up my most generous offer, later?" He inquired. Chelsea smiled sweetly, "I don't think so."

Anger flashed across Will's handsome face before it faded and he regained his composure, "Pity." He flounced away from them.

Julia cocked an eyebrow, "What was that about?" Chelsea sighed, "Don't ask."

A booming voice sounded over a megaphone, "Ok, everyone! The beach festival is about to begin. Girls, you may take off your large shirts. The first event is...Suka Wari!"

Julia and Chelsea squealed with delight. "Oh my god, I love Suka Wari!" Julia swooned. "I used to play it all the time in the city!" Chelsea said while clapping her hands enthusiastically. Vaughn and Elliot just gave them blank stares.

"Boys, turn around while we prepare." They said at the same time. Vaughn and Elliot sighed and turned around, their backs facing them. Chelsea and Julia threw their large shirts in a pile in the sand. Chelsea wore a light blue bikini, which matched her eyes; Julia wore one the color of freshly cut grass.

Julia smiled, "You look so cute in that." Chelsea laughed, "Really? I don't think it's really me to be honest."

"Ok, boys you can look." Vaughn and Elliot turned, both boys blushed. Vaughn was bright red and had something leaking out of his nose.

"Vaughn, you have a nosebleed, are you ok?" Chelsea asked. Vaughn wiped his nose and swore at the tiny drop of blood, "I'm fine…" He grunted.

Vaughn led the way to the first event, Chelsea followed behind.

-Ten minutes-

Taro shouted into the megaphone again, "Alright, the rules of Suka Wari is simple: One person is blindfolded and handed a hammer to smash open the watermelon. Another person gives the blindfolded person instructions on where to go, on the other hand, one person will give wrong instructions, be careful. The first person to be blindfolded will be…Will!"

Will stepped forward and tied the blindfold on his eyes and hefted a wooden hammer in his hands. Julia was selected to give the right instructions, while Natalie was in charge of giving out wrong ones.

Mirabelle set the watermelon a few feet away.

Taro cleared his throat, "Ok...BEGIN!"

"Go left!"

"No, backward!"

"What are you doing? To the right! To the right!"

"Keep going forward."

"To the left!"

"Swing!"

Will swung...and missed the watermelon by three inches. He removed his blindfold and shrugged. "Oh well, I couldn't concentrate since two beautiful voices made my mind disoriented."

The men gagged, Julia and Natalie blushed. Chelsea however walked up to Will sighing, "You didn't do it right! Julia was trying to give you the CORRECT instructions, you were following Natalie's' instead."

Will smiled brightly and handed her the blindfold and hammer. "Well...why don't you try. I will give you the wrong instructions and Vaughn will give you the right instructions. Let's see how easy it is, ok Beautiful?"

Chelsea sneered, which surprised everyone, even Vaughn. "You're on." She tied the blindfold and hefted the hammer. "Taro start the round."

Taro blinked, "Um...BEGIN!"

"Go left!"

"...Forward..."

"Go right! Where are you going?"

"Step left..."

"Forward! Go Forward!"

"Swing..."

Chelsea swung and heard the satisfying smash of watermelon. She whipped off her blindfold and saw that the Watermelon was smashed perfectly. Chelsea turned around to receive her applause.

Vaughn had his arms crossed over his chest, he nodded with approval. Will however, was seething with anger, even though he tried desperately to hide it.

Taro chuckled, "Well done Chelsea, that's the way! Everyone take a piece of Watermelon. We will begin the final event in two hours. Afterwards, we will all enjoy some fireworks that Gannon and Chen prepared."

-Two hours later-

"Ahh, that was good, huh Vaughn?" Chelsea said merrily, Vaughn just shrugged and looked away. Taro's booming voice sounded again, "Time for the final event! Come on hurry up stop slacking!"

Everyone gathered around Taro in a wide circle. Taro began explaining the last game. "Ok this last event is only for men. *Groan..* Oh stop complaining! The name of this event is called..."Do you know who you're with?" Each young man must step up to the center of the circle and describe the young lady he brought today. If you did NOT invite someone, then describe the person you wish you were with. First up is...Elliot!"

Elliot nervously cleared his throat. "T-today I came with my girlfriend. I-I am the luckiest man on the face of this earth. S-she has a knack with animals...she i-is my other half. I promised myself that I would never allow her to get hurt, I-I Love her...and I thank the Goddess that I can enjoy every moment with her. My life is perfect, I wouldn't change a single moment." He stepped back, Julia's eyes were watering.

Denny sauntered up next, full of confidence, "I won't lie, the girl I'm with is the bomb! Her voice can knock out royalty and she never gives up, no matter what the circumstance! YEAH!" He fist pumped the air and stepped back. Lanna face palmed her and muttered under her breath.

Will walked forward, he glanced in Chelsea's direction and smiled before beginning, "I am with no one at the minute. The girl I wish I was with is beautiful beyond comparison. Her smile can make angels weep. Her laugh is catchy, and her eyes are as clear as the ocean. Maybe, she will take my earlier offer and accompany me and ditch the stiff she's with."

He gave Chelsea a wink and stepped back. She flushed pink. All the girls oohed and ached. The guys fake gagged.

Pierre had gone up and compared Natalie to fine foods, which earned him a stomp on his big toe. He should have known that Natalie hated being compared to food.

It was finally Vaughn's turn, he had ditched his cowboy hat, his hair turned deeper silver in the first moon beams in the sky.

He stepped forward and fixed a look on everyone around him. "I'm not good with words. Today, I came with...my friend. At first, I hated her, despised her even. But...she made me see past all that. Normally, I would push her away, like I am known for. But, I told her things that I would never admit about myself...and my past. In return, I gained someone I could trust completely, and who I would...perhaps...give my life to save. I didn't think that I was capable with friendship..." He turned to Chelsea, a small, but real, smile formed on his lips.

He continued, "Thank you Chelsea...my true friend." Chelsea smiled at Vaughn, tears welling up in her eyes. Vaughn cleared his throat and stepped back.

Mirabelle was dabbing her eyes, Chen and Gannon smiled broadly. Taro sniffed before composing himself, "Ok, everyone take your seats! The fireworks will begin shortly.

-Twenty minutes later-

Chelsea and Vaughn sat on a blue beach towel near Elliot and Julia. He was turned away from her, ignoring her as usual. Chelsea smiled, his words carried so much emotion.

Will's words were empty flattery. Chelsea saw something in his heart when Will asked her out, a sort of impurity that practically screamed 'stay away'. She would turn down his advances, she had no time for something that could crush her.

The first firework blasted in the air, red color light. Chelsea pointed at it, "Wow! This is better than the ones I used to see in the city." She placed her hand close to Vaughn's, inches from touching.

When Vaughn pointed at a green one, he accidently placed his hand on Chelsea's.

Both of them were shocked. His strong hand, on her small one. Vaughn blushed and turned away from her, Chelsea thought her heat was doing a relay race in her chest. How could one touch make her feel so warm and fuzzy?

She glanced at Vaughn, his features were sharpened in the moonlight. 'Am . I. falling in love...with you?' She wondered when she studied him. His hand closed a little tighter on hers, it was her turn to blush.

Vaughn looked at her, his eyes intense, "Are...you having a good time?" Chelsea nodded cheerfully.

He removed his hand from hers and motioned for her to sit right next to him. Chelsea couldn't help but blush, their sides were touching. Vaughn yawned, "Do. You mind. If..." Chelsea just said, "Oh. Um, go ahead, its fine."

Vaughn placed his hand on her waist, it sent cold shivers down her spine. Vaughn was holding her like it was completely natural.

She looked at her left, Julia was curled up in Elliot's lap, she flashed thumbs up in Chelsea's direction. Chelsea flushed and concentrated on the fireworks.

Vaughn wasn't saying anything, Chelsea remembered the dream when he told her that he loved her...but, Vaughn was probably just trying to be a good friend. He didn't like her that way, Chelsea was sure about it.

-One hour later-

Everyone started packing up. The girls had thrown on their extra-large shirts and began walking home with their escorts.

Vaughn and Chelsea walked to her house under the waning moonlight. Vaughn had placed his hat on his head again and still ignored her as they walked. They came to her door.

"Thanks for a great time Vaughn. It was awesome!" Chelsea said with a smile. Vaughn nodded awkwardly. He reached out a hand and gently caressed Chelsea's cheek, a sort of longing was in his eyes that Chelsea couldn't describe. Before Chelsea could react, Vaughn lightly kissed her on the cheek.

Chelsea's eyes widened, as did Vaughn's. He pulled his hat down over his eyes in embarrassment, "Um...Goodnight, Chelsea, I...I'll see you next week." He waved and started walking across the bridge.

She touched her cheek absently, "Vaughn..."She whispered. She smiled and entered her house. Hachi was jumping up and down with happiness. "Hi boy!" She placed the puppy on the bed and got ready for bed.

She sat down at the edge of her bed, did...did Vaughn like her? Chelsea didn't know what to think. He normally acted so distant towards her...and yet, why did she feel utterly happy when she was with him?

The phone on the bedside table rang. She picked it up, "Hello?"

"Chelsea?" The voice said.

"Dad!" She said happily.

"How are you sweet heart? Marian and I miss you so much." Her dad said on the phone. Chelsea smiled sadly, "I miss you guys too..."

"Chelsea...the house is going to be sold...Some rich family bought it and we're going to move out." Her father said.

Chelsea nearly dropped the phone, "What? Where...where will you guys go?"

Her father laughed, "We have a place in mind, we're going to move downtown...but Chelsea, I'm calling because I want you to move back." Chelsea was shocked, "B-But, I have a farm and a new puppy. And friends, I can't just leave!"

"I'm not asking you to choose now sweetie. It's your choice, just come home if you're unhappy, ok? We are leaving our home next week Wednesday. Call me by Thursday night if you want to come back to the city, ok baby?" Her dad said gently.

Chelsea teared, "Ok...Night dad..."

"Night sweetheart."

*Click*

Chelsea put down the phone and buried her face in her hands, feeling more miserable than she has ever felt in her life.

-(Will)-

Will chuckled darkly when his associate gave him the news that the deed was done. He stood and walked to the ship window and stared out at the waves.

"So...she thinks she can ignore me? Brush me off? I'll show her. No one messes with William Terry Luce Andrew Karick Jonathan Toriji Hams Reding Roger Sazak Annick Primus Junior Darshanivack the third and gets away with it."

He stared at a picture of Chelsea, "Oh yes...you will regret the day you turned me down. If you won't be mine...I'll make sure you're not anyone's...ever." He drew a pocket knife and slashed the picture in half and laughed his easy going laugh that would normally make a lady swoon.

Chelsea would need to make a choice, stay and be his, or go back to the city and be with her father. Will sneered to no one in particular, "I. Will. Have. My. Revenge..."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

(Vaughn)

"Ok, what's with all the blank and sad stares everyone's been giving me? I just stepped off the boat." Vaughn muttered when Julia gave him a sad stare. She shook her head, "You wouldn't get it... Everyone is shocked and is waiting for Chelsea's next move."

"Try me...I have time." Vaughn grunted. He glared at Julia, a challenge for defying him. Julia sighed.

"Chelsea got a phone call from her dad after the beach festival. Some rich family bought their house and now their forced to move. Chelsea's dad wants her to come back home, probably forever..." Julia started to sniffle, and wiped her eyes.

Vaughn widened his eyes, "What? No...She can't possibly...No..." Julia smiled sadly, "She doesn't have a reply for her dad yet, but she's seriously thinking about leaving…"

Vaughn was starting to get irritated, "Well, we can't just sit around and mope! Has anyone tried talking to her? At all?" Julia sighed, "Everyone tried, but she bought a teleportation stone from Chen and whenever someone gets close she chants and she disappears somewhere else."

Right at that moment Chelsea popped in between them, holding a glowing white stone in her hands.

"Eh?"

"…What the…"

"Oops…heh, heh…BYE!"

"Chelsea, wait!" Vaughn grabbed onto her shoulder just before she disappeared, he teleported along for the ride. Imagine your life passing before your eyes; now imagine it sped up by three and double the amount of colors, that's what Vaughn felt like.

-Twelve minutes later-

Vaughn groaned as he got up, he and Chelsea were on Mushroom Island…and he was…on top of Chelsea. "Owwie…you're heavyyy…" She complained.

"What's this about leaving the islands? Answer me!" Vaughn snarled in her face, Chelsea squeaked and mumbled into her shiny white stone again. "…Oh no…" Vaughn managed to say before they were teleporting again.

-Five minutes later-

They appeared near the church in east town, Vaughn was still on Chelsea. "Why do you keep teleporting with meee?" She wailed, trying to free herself from under Vaughn.

He sighed, "Apparently, if me and you are touching I'm forced to come along for the ride. Now, stop avoiding the question...Why are you going to leave the islands? And while I'm at it…Why do you avoid people?" Chelsea sprang up, making Vaughn jump off of her. "Sorry…I have to make sure you don't follow me."

"Huh?" Vaughn said. He got his answer when Chelsea spin kicked him in…well; let's just say his voice changed by a few octaves. He fell to his knees in pain…"Ow…" He squeaked. Chelsea stared down at him, no expression in her gaze. "I'm sorry…" She clutched the stone and disappeared.

-Five minutes later-

"Vaughn! What happened…why are you curled up in a ball on the ground?" Julia said, standing over him.

She offered her hand and Vaughn stood, still slightly crippled from the pain. "Chelsea…kicked….'him'"

Julia looked confused, "Him?" Vaughn gave her a pointed look. Julia's mouth started to twitch and her shoulders started shaking, she was laughing at him.

"Oh shut up, you idiot…" Vaughn regained his composure and began to think…Who would help them with some stuck up rich family that bought Chelsea's old home.

He snapped his fingers, "Regis!" Julia was lost, "Huh?" Vaughn was getting excited, "Regis knows all about things that get bought and sold anywhere, right? Maybe he can stop the house from being sold." Julia squealed, "Of course! Oh, but…he's been in a mad mood ever since Sabrina left, and that was over a year ago."

Vaughn shrugged, "We'll have to take our chances. Come on!" He started speed walking towards Regis's house. Julia followed in hot pursuit.

-Twenty minutes later-

"You want me to what?" Regis yawned. He was a man in his late forties with a beak nose and greasy black hair. He wore a simple robe with a brown trim; his house was more like a small mansion than a simple townhouse like everyone else.

"For the fifth time…CAN YOU JUST CHECK TO SEE WHOS BUYING CHELSEAS' OLD HOME?" Vaughn shouted. Julia was sitting on one of the leather couches twiddling her thumbs, probably wishing she was anywhere but there.

Regis stood and stroked his mustache in boredom, "And why should I?"

"Because. She's the only one who actually brings back any ore or jewels. If she leaves, your mining company will start going down the tubes." Vaughn sneered. Regis sighed, "Oh very well, this will take a moment.

He pulled out a small laptop and began clicking away on the keyboard, his eyes darting from left to right. "Eureka!" He said happily. His gaze turned dark and serious, "This…can't be possible…" He murmured.

"What?" Vaughn said. Regis looked at him, worry tainted his gaze. "The family that bought Chelsea's house…is my nephews'." At that moment, Will walked in, a childish smile on his face, "Good day, Uncle. Oh, I see you have company…"

Vaughn turned around slowly, rage filled him, and Julia actually shrank away from him in fear. "You…spoiled BRAT!" He spat. Will's confident smile faded and he started taking a step back, "Now, take it easy. I think we can all figure this out like civilized adults and-"He never got to finish, Vaughn rammed into him, knocking them both to the floor.

The two of them rolled on the floor, hitting and swearing and yelling. Vaughn pulled some of Wills hair and punched him in the gut. Vaughn got blindsided to a kick to his nose, blood spurted. Vaughn clung onto Will, pummeling his face, with each power packed punch.

Will snarled and started to choke Vaughn. He struggled against the wealthy boy and punched Will in the neck, making the boy gag and get shoved off. Vaughn leaped up and continued to beat his fists against Will's face, ignoring Will's nails scratching his face, drawing blood through the scratches.

"STOP IT!" Regis yelled, he pushed the two enraged boys off each other.

Both of them were wheezing hard and covered in bruises. Will was nursing a black eye and a swollen lip. Vaughn's face was bloody from the scratches and he had bruises along his body, which ached when he moved.

Julia had jumped behind the couch and was peering over the top, cautiously. Vaughn was the first to speak, "Why the hell did you buy Chelsea's old house? You do realize you're causing her to leave!"

Will stood shakily, he swept his arm across his mouth, wiping the blood on his white sleeve. "All part of my master plan." He walked to a chair as Vaughn stood. He stared him down, "I'll give Chelsea a choice, if she becomes my new girlfriend, I'll cancel the deed and her father will not have to move. Or she leaves the islands to be with her miserable family."

Vaughn clenched his fists, "You sick bastard! Do you think this little charade will get her to love you? She will despise you!" Will blinked slowly, as if the matter didn't worry him a bit. "She will learn to love me in time."

"WHAT?"

"I have the patience and the money, she'll come around once she sees my immense wealth."

Vaughn raged, "Money isn't everything! This is why you're still single! This is why Lilly left! You're too self-centered! "

"SHUT UP! DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK HER NAME IN MY PRESENCE!" Will snapped, tears spilled out of his eyes. Vaughn felt almost sorry for him, but not really. Will punched the wall, "She...turned my proposal down twice…That's why…I won't allow anyone to fall in love before me…"

Regis walked forward to comfort his nephew, who was sobbing quietly. The phone on the table rang, Regis answered it, "Yes? Oh, yes…he's here." He handed the phone to Will, "It's your father."

The whole room was looking at Will, wondering about his next move. Julia finally spoke up, "Will…it's not too late, you don't have to do this to poor Chelsea…Please." Vaughn glared at Will, willing him to back down. "I never loved her, Vaughn…I just hated that someone like YOU was falling in love with someone before me…" Will whispered in anguish.

Vaughn blinked, Love? He thought about it, did he love Chelsea? Was that why he was trying so fiercely to protect her?

Will sighed and put the phone to his ear, "Hello…father? Cancel the deed on the house. I changed my mind."

-Two hours later-

Vaughn went to Chelsea's house, by now, news would have spread that the house was safe and Chelsea didn't have to move back home. *Knock, Knock*. Chelsea opened the door, a sad smile on her face.

"Hey…want to take a walk?" He offered. She nodded. They walked under the moonlight, a cool breeze whispered through the trees. They were in an awkward silence, not looking at each other. Vaughn saw a patch of soft grass in a beam of moonlight and suggested they sit down.

"Um…I'm sorry for kicking you in you're…" She blushed. Vaughn shrugged. Chelsea sighed unhappily.

Vaughn looked at her, "You heard the new right? Will canceled the deed on your family's home. You don't have to leave me-I mean the islands." He caught himself just in time. Chelsea turned to him, her gaze serious, which was uncharacteristic of her. Her hair gently flowed around the nape of her neck, Vaughn blushed and he was glad it was already night time.

"You know…lately, my heart hasn't been in my work. I get distracted, and I just don't know what to do anymore. I…thought I was happy at first, I mean, I met you and everyone, but…" She trailed off.

Vaughn was starting to get worried, "But?"

Chelsea took a deep breath, "But…when I heard my dad's voice, I was homesick…I didn't know what to do, and when he said he wanted me home, I felt like my heart was being torn in two. But when Julia gave me the news that my dads' house was released, I was relieved that I wouldn't need to go…dad called me earlier and said that I could stay here, or come home if I wasn't at my happiest." She stared off into the distance, "It's…going to kill me…but I made my choice."

Vaughn swallowed hard, she wouldn't…

Chelsea stood up and gazed down at Vaughn, "I decided to tell you my decision first, since you're leaving the day after tomorrow again." He scrambled up so he could look her in the eye. "No…"

A tear trickled down her cheek, "I'm leaving the islands tomorrow night…I'm…I'm so sorry Vaughn." She tiptoed and kissed him lightly on his cheek. "Thank you…for…everything…I should get packing…" She said as she turned around and started walking in the direction of her house.

"Ch…Chelsea!" He called, his hand reaching out for her…but it was too late, she was out of reach and disappearing over the hilltop. He sank to his knees in misery, "Chelsea…" He whispered. 'My heart…it aches…its…breaking…' He thought as he clutched his chest.

Vaughn punched the ground, the physical pain helped rid some of the mental pain. A realization came to him, 'There's…still one more thing I can do…' He raced for Chelsea's house.

-Twelve minutes later-

"CHELSEA ! OPEN THIS DOOR!" Vaughn shouted as he pounded a fist on her door. Chelsea finally opened it, "Vaughn, I know your upset, but-" Chelsea started to say before Vaughn pushed his way in. He slammed the door and backed Chelsea into a corner. He grabbed her shoulders.

Chelsea blushed, "V-Vaughn! What are you doing?"

"You can't leave! You can't leave the islands and…you can't leave me!" He said in anguish. His bottom lip trembled.

"Leave…you?" Chelsea said in confusion.

"Don't…don't you know how I feel when you say things like that? It breaks my heart! It's like magma being poured on my bones…Please don't leave! Please!" Vaughn pleaded, his face was a mere inch from touching hers.

"I-I…" Chelsea tried saying.

"Chelsea I…I love you! Not like friends but more, don't leave me. Too many people have left me! " He kissed her forehead gently. His heart ached for her as he pulled back.

Hoping she felt the same way he did.

"Vaughn…" Chelsea whispered.

Vaughn realized what he said and released her. "Uh…um…um…Goodnight…and sorry." He tipped his hat low over his eyes and walked out, leaving a dumbfounded Chelsea all alone.

-Ten minutes later-

"Oh god…oh god…" Vaughn said as he laid down on his usual hay bale. He blushed, he had told her how he really felt and messed up kissing her for better effect. Mirabelle walked in, "Vaughn…are you alright? You haven't said anything all night."

Vaughn sat up and sighed, taking off his hat so he could run his hand through his hair. "Mirabelle…can…can I ask you something?" He said. Mirabelle nodded and sat next to him. Her face was full of concern.

He sighed, "Every time I look at Chelsea, I feel sick and I can't breathe, what it means? And…I told her…I love her. God I must be sick…"

Mirabelle grinned, "No, you're not sick, you're in love, Vaughn. I'm glad you're finally opening up. How did Chelsea take it?" Vaughn shrugged, "I don't know…I left before she could say anything."

Mirabelle face palmed herself, in exasperation, "Teenagers…really. Listen, if you really care about her…why don't you ask her out on a date? That way you could see if you two truly care about each other."

"A…date?" Vaughn repeated, tossing the idea in his mind, "I don't know…"

Mirabelle stood up and smiled kindly at him, "You decide, just remember, she won't wait around forever. Goodnight dear." She waddled out of the shop and went into the house section of the shop. Turning out the light as she left.

Vaughn flopped on his 'bed' and tried to calm his disturbed mind.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

(Chelsea)

"Kyaaah! Oh my god, no way! He said he loves you! Oh that is sooo romantic!" Julia squealed.

Natalie sighed, "Its way better than the time Pierre compared me to finest curry, that's for sure."

"Yeah…" Chelsea said, she had seen a side of Vaughn that she thought she would never have seen. How he pleaded for her to stay, and how much emotion was in that one kiss…even if it was on her forehead. "Hey Chels, you don't sound so happy, I thought you would be ecstatic that someone loves you, even if it is Vaughn." Julia said.

"I…just don't know, ok? It's kind of surprising when it comes from someone you least expect, you know?" She said. The sun blazed brightly in the sun overhead, the crops were, sadly, going to be B rank at best. Beth was expecting her first calf, and she now had a total of four chickens.

With all the money she's made, she had enough to upgrade her house at least twice. Natalie continued, "Well, has he made a move yet?"

Chelsea stared at her innocently, "Made a move?"

Julia face palmed herself, "Wow, you must be one of those people that have absolute innocence, right?"

Footsteps sounded close, Chelsea turned and saw Vaughn walking towards them, his expression guarded. Julia nudged her, "Here comes Prince Charming." Chelsea stuck out her tongue at her, "Shut up…"

Natalie and Julia greeted Vaughn then walked off, but they were still within hearing distance. "Hi, Vaughn." Chelsea said cheerfully, though she had a million questions she wanted to pester him with.

"Hey…" He said simply, he avoided her gaze on purpose. "Um…hey about the other night-" She began to say before Vaughn cut in rudely, "I only said those things so you wouldn't leave. I didn't mean any of that…"

Chelsea stared at him sadly, Vaughn tripped over his words, "Wait…I…didn't mean it…like that…I…"

She shook her head, "No…forget it… I'll just go now." Chelsea gloomily walked away from him, ignoring his shouts for her. She walked past Natalie and Julia, who were giving Vaughn the death stare. 'I'm such an idiot…'

Before she knew it, she was walking in the forest, the trees shaded her from the sun, and the cold darkness reflected her now dark heart. Rubbing her arms together she found the goddess pond again. The light blue mixed green surface glistened like diamonds in the sun. She sat by the edge and wondered if she made the wrong choice by staying.

Vaughn clearly held her in disdain, yet he had pleaded with her the night before to stay. "He was probably forced to say those things…" She murmured to herself.

Little pinkcats were growing around her feet, fuzzy and cheerful, they did nothing for her mood.

Chelsea decided that she wouldn't care, her heart was heavy with false lies and desires. Staring into the clear water, she wondered how deep it was…was it deep enough to drown?

She shook her head in frustration, no, it wouldn't do any good if she were dead. She ran her hands through her hair in frustration, then she had an idea, normally she would sing when she was happy or full of cheer, since her feelings were bitter and dark, why not sing to get it out?

She found a little opening that was surrounded by trees, making sure no one was around(and that's pretty easy when the native Shea started hunting, since he always made loud grunts, which scared away most of his prey.) Seeing no one there, she started to sing a song by an artist who was popular in the city.

"Hello, hello, baby you called? I have got no service in the club you see, you see, Wha-Wha-What did you say, huh? Your breaking up on me, Sorry I can't help you I'm kinda busy." Chelsea sang, putting all of her emotion in the song, her eyes were hard and cruel. Her hands clenching at her sides.

"You should have made some plans with me, you knew that I was free! And now you won't stop calling me, I'm kinda busy." She started to sing louder, she pretended that Vaughn was in front of her and she was singing to him, telling him that it's too late for anything that he wanted to say.

"And you're not gonna reach my telephone!" Chelsea said, stomping her foot on some of the pinkcats on the last note. She was breathing hard, all of her pent up anger was washing out of her slowly, like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon.

"If I can't reach you on your phone…can I just talk to you in person?" A voice from behind her snickered.

Chelsea froze, that voice…oh no…She turned around slowly, like she was a video stuck on slow mo. Vaughn was leaning against a tree, a few feet away from where she was singing.

"Vaughn. What do you want." She attempted to put venom into her words, but it was an utter failure. Vaughn sighed, "Look, I…I'm sorry if I hurt you…uh…"

Chelsea rolled her eyes, "You know what. I should have known that you would only say those things if someone told you to, just admit it."

Vaughn stuttered, "N-No! No one told me to say those things! I-I swear."

Chelsea snapped, "Save it! You already told me that you just told me those things because you wanted me to stay. A-and all that crap about me staying with you? And how it broke your heart? Bull!"

Vaughn narrowed his eyes, "Is…that what you think I meant last night? That all my words were just…crap?"

Chelsea looked at him sadly, "That's exactly what I think…" Vaughn widened his eyes, he closed the space between them and wrapped his arms around her. Chelsea struggled at first, but relaxed when she realized that he wasn't trying to strangle her, just hold her.

'Don't think about him. Don't think about how nice he's being.' Her mind argued. 'But it's so warm and inviting…' The other half of her mind protested.

'Stop it! You're supposed to be angry, remember?'

'I can't…it's not in my nature.'

'Suck it up!'

'But he's kinda cute…'

'So what?'

Chelsea cleared her mind so she wouldn't get confused. Vaughn pulled back slightly so she was forced to stare into his deep, purple eyes. His hat covered his silvery hair, but only slightly, the parts that weren't covered were being gently stirred by the wind.

He started to speak, "Listen…I said those things earlier because of Julia and Natalie, god knows that they don't keep their noses out of gossip like this."

Chelsea sighed, "So, you're afraid of what they'll think if they see us even talking? You're basically ashamed of me." Vaughn let go of her completely.

Vaughn face palmed himself, "It's complicated."

"That was the title of a movie."

"Don't change the subject."

"It had way too many adult themes…oh my god, did you watch that?"

"STOP CHANGING THE SUBJECT!" Vaughn shouted. Chelsea giggled, "You totally saw it." Vaughn blushed, "You're not making this easy, you know…"

"What?" She asked.

"I…I'm trying to ask you…" Vaughn started to say.

"Yeah?" Chelsea said, she was still giggling from the movie reference.

"W…Would you…like t-to…um…"Vaughn was stuttering again, his face was turning red. Chelsea laughed, "Just spit it out." Vaughn took a deep breath and took her hands in his, he hesitated and sighed, "No…never mind…"

Chelsea removed her hands from him, "Oh come on, what did you want to ask?" Vaughn shook his head, "No, it's nothing…"

Chelsea glared, "Then…we're done here, goodbye." She pulled her stone from her pocket and muttered incoherently.

-Twenty minutes later-

"DAMN IT!" Chelsea screamed as she kicked some mushrooms in frustration, she sank to the ground, tears spilled on the sand. She teleported to Mushroom Island, there was only an abandoned hut and a few large giant mushrooms that populated the island.

"I won't go back…as long as HE'S there. STUPID!" She shouted to no one in particular. The humming of a motor boat from far away made her turn around. At the far distance, the motorboat powered by the guy in the blue suit was heading for the Island…Vaughn was the only passenger.

"Shit." She cursed, she quickly ran inside the abandoned hut and locked the door behind her. She stood with her back against the door, her heat pounding in her chest.

"Chelsea? Chelsea! Are you here?" Called Vaughn's voice, her heat started pumping when she heard his voice.

His footsteps shuffled outside of the hut. The doorknob jangled, "Chelsea…come on, and I know you're in there…" Vaughn said.

"I am not!" Chelsea shouted on impulse, she covered her mouth with her hands.

Vaughn chuckled behind the door, "Oh really now?"

"G-Go away!" Chelsea yelled.

"Ok…Then I'm just gonna have to bust down this door huh?"

Chelsea swallowed, "You wouldn't"

"I'll count to three…Then I'm going to knock down this door."

"What?"

"One…"

"STOP THAT!"

"Two…"

"VAUGHN! CUT IT OUT!"

"Three…"

Chelsea moved out of the way just as the door slammed open, the lock hanging by its hinges. Vaughn took a step inside, his boots scuffing the dust in the air. He turned and saw Chelsea, glaring at him defiantly.

"Hmph…there you are…" He said pompously. Chelsea refused to make eye contact, "Go away…"

He shook his head, "Come on...look at me…" Chelsea turned away from him. She felt a hand on her shoulder, it sent tingles up her spine. "S-Stop it…" She said, her face was flaming. He turned her around so she was forced to look in his purple eyes.

"Chelsea…please hear me out, ok?" He said softly, the kindness in his voice surprised her, Chelsea nodded cautiously. Vaughn sighed and cleared his throat, "Look…I'm not good with words, but…I…really care about you…And earlier…I was trying to ask you to go out on…a date with me." He released her and shrugged, "Your free to say no…if you do say yes…then the date would be when I return to the islands next week, ok?"

Her heart was beating double time, 'Oh my God, Oh my God… Vaughn…likes me…he really does.' She was so happy that she squealed and threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. Vaughn stiffened, then wrapped his arms around her, Chelsea was grinning ear to ear.

They pulled away, both of them red faced. "Um…come on, let's go back…ok?" Vaughn said.

-Twelve minutes later-

They arrived on the main island, Vaughn turned to Chelsea, "So…next week is fine with you?"

Chelsea nodded, "It's perfect."

Vaughn tipped his hat low over his face, "So…you won't be gone when I come back?"

She laughed, "Don't worry I won't. I wouldn't want you to get too _lonely_" Vaughn turned away from her, muttered "Idiot" then started for the animal shop.

-Three hours later-

"K, thanks for your help Julia." Chelsea said merrily, Julia grinned, "My pleasure, good luck next week! Oh, I'm so happy for you!" They hugged and Julia waved goodbye and left Chelsea's house.

She sighed and placed the box under her bed, she would only use that dress if Vaughn took her somewhere fancy. She actually hoped it wasn't, she felt so out of place in a dress.

Flopping on her bed, Hachi jumped up and landed on her pillow. She pet him before she lost consciousness.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

(Vaughn)

"Come on, you gotta kiss her tonight!" Denny whined to Vaughn, they were hanging out at the bar, Vaughn kept mulling over ideas on where to take Chelsea for their date that night.

"You're kidding…right?" Vaughn said nonchalantly.

Denny rolled his eyes, "No. Just take my advice, just lay one on her and bam! She's yours for life!" He smiled with confidence. Vaughn cocked an eyebrow up, "Oh really? And this is coming from the guy that got dumped by his girlfriend."

Denny blushed angrily, "Sh-Shut up! It just didn't work out, ok?" Vaughn shrugged and drank his coffee in one gulp, wincing a bit at the bitter taste it left in his mouth. It was a quarter past twelve, Chelsea would probably be waiting for him at the animal shop.

"Gotta go…" He got up to leave. Denny gave him a mock salute, "Hasta la Vista, and don't forget my advice, old buddy!"

Vaughn chuckled softly, "Too late…"

-One hour later-

Vaughn shuffled his feet as he neared the animal shop. When he saw Chelsea waiting there for him, he had an uncontrollable urge to walk away. 'No…no running…stay calm dammit.' His mind scolded.

He walked up to Chelsea, she greeted him with a cheerful grin, "Hi Vaughn." He grunted awkwardly. Chelsea was in her farming clothes and her red bandanna as usual, so why did it make his heart pound?

"Um…for our date tonight…How about we go to meadow island and…look at the stars?" He asked. Chelsea beamed, "That's perfect! I'm going to start getting ready. See you there." She tiptoed and kissed him on the cheek before she ran off giggling.

Vaughn blushed and absently touched his cheek, He stared at the ground for a moment, "Idiot…" He murmured. He shook his head and pushed open the door to the animal shop.

Mirabelle and Julia were apparently arguing about the same thing again, and Vaughn was forced to watch it unfold again…great.

"But Mooom! It's just Elliot!"

"I said no Julia, what kind of mother do you think I am?"

"It's just one night!"

"No."

"Mooom! Please! Please! Please!"

"No Julia! I will not allow Elliot to sleep over and in the same room no less!"

"We won't do anything!"

Vaughn cleared his throat, Mirabelle and Julia froze and looked over to him. "Did…you hear any of what just happened?" Julia swallowed.

"Yep…" He answered lazily. "I'm going to get ready, I guess."

"For what?" Mirabelle inquired, Vaughn blushed, "Uh…nothing…" Julia laughed, "He has a date."

Mirabelle blinked in shock, Vaughn glared at Julia, "Better watch it girl…I can't do anything to you, but the things that could happen to your nerdy boyfriend…" Julia rolled her eyes, "Yeah, Yeah, whatever Mr. Lovey Dovey."

Vaughn blushed again and covered his face with his hat and went to go change.

-Seven hours later-

"Ugh…I don't even look like me…" Vaughn grumbled. He wore a pair of plain denim slacks with a crisp white shirt. He still wore his boots, though Mirabelle forced him to leave his hat at home. His hair was still slightly tousled. He unbuttoned the first three buttons, so that he wouldn't look like a nerd going to a funeral.

He ran a hand through his hair, He was doing this for just a girl…no he was doing it for Chelsea. As soon as he took a step back into the shop, he was blinded from a flash from a camera.

"The hell?" He muttered as he tried to gain his vision back. Mirabelle laughed, "Oh come on, and it isn't every day that you go on your first date!" Vaughn snorted and walked out the door. The night air was fresh and showed no sign of rain, which must've been a good sign.

He walked across the bridge to Chelsea's house. Wind whistled through the trees, which felt good on the late summer night.

He finally arrived at Chelsea's door. Before he knocked, he noticed a little brown puppy dozing on its back on the porch. Vaughn smiled. He always had a soft spot for animals.

"Here goes nothing I guess…" He muttered. *Knock, knock*

"I'll be out in a minute!" Called Chelsea's voice from inside. Vaughn swallowed nervously, he still couldn't believe that he was finally going out with her…

The door opened and Vaughn fell for her all over again. Chelsea was wearing a short blue mini skirt and black tank top, the skirt suited her eyes, and on her feet was white flats. Her hair was down and framed her face while it flowed down her back. She smiled, her light lip gloss seemed to sparkle in the moonlight.

His face flushed and something dripped out of his nose. Chelsea widened her eyes, "Uh, oh. You have a nose bleed." She fished around in her pocket and pulled out a Kleenex, "You seem to be having nosebleeds often, huh?" She handed him the tissue.

Vaughn blushed and muttered something as he wiped his nose and bunched it in a ball. He stuffed it in his pocket. "Let's go…"

Chelsea blushed as they began to walk down to the pier. Vaughn walked next to her stiffly, as if he was a stone statue that just came alive that night.

-One hour later-

The both of them arrived at Meadow Island at last. Chelsea took a deep breath, "Wow, this place is so peaceful at night!" Vaughn shrugged.

She sighed, "You haven't said anything since we left my house, you ok?" Vaughn nodded, "Just…"

"What?"

"I'm…"

"Spit it out!"

"I'm nervous, ok?"

Chelsea just stared at him, her eyes full of wonder, then she started to laugh, "What? You're kidding! So now Mr. I'm so confident and moody, is shy? HAHAHAHAAA~!"

Vaughn narrowed his eyes, "Sheesh…your so annoying." Chelsea stopped laughing and looked a little hurt. He saw her expression and cursed under his breath, he was screwing the whole date up. Suddenly a little light floated between them.

"What the…" He said. Chelsea on the other hand, squealed in delight, "Fireflies! Look Vaughn, they're everywhere!" There must've been at least thirty of the little insects, gently floating on the breeze and blinking their yellow lights on and off.

She ran off and started twirling amongst them, her laughter rang across the entire island. Vaughn quirked his lips in a small smile, barely noticeable. Chelsea managed to catch one, she brought it over to Vaughn. The insect glowed gently in her hands, staying perfectly still as they looked at it.

"It's pretty…I guess." Vaughn rolled his eyes. Chelsea sighed, " Don't you know the legend?"

"What?" Vaughn said, boredom made him sound like a jerk…it suited him just fine. Chelsea switched the firefly to one hand and face palmed with the other.

"Ok, the legend goes like this: If you catch a firefly and it stays in the palm of your hand, it means that it will grant you any wish you desire and will wait till you say it, then it will fly off and make the wish happen." Chelsea said, looking at the firefly fondly.

Vaughn snorted, "And you believe that?...Chels, that's just a dumb fairytale, it's not real." Chelsea pouted, "It is real! I already made my wish. Now make yours." She grabbed his hand and gently placed the firefly in the palm of his hand.

It felt warm, like he was holding a little light bulb, he leaned close to the firefly and whispered, 'Let me have the courage for what I'm going to do tonight.' As soon as he spoke the last word, the firefly blinked three times and floated out of his palm. It then zipped around its brethren.

Chelsea laughed, "See? Wasn't it fun?" Vaughn shrugged. They sat down, watching the fireflies zip in and out, performing a private ballet for the only two people on the island.

Chelsea leaned against Vaughn, her head on his shoulder. Vaughn gulped, her scent was flooding his nose, sweet flowers and fresh earth, intoxicating him. Before he knew it, he had an arm draped over her shoulders. Chelsea snuggled closer.

"Happy…" He heard her mutter. "What?"

She tilted her head up, her blue eyes clear with no worry whatsoever. She smiled, "I said I'm happy. This is the most fun I've ever had with someone I cared about…" Vaughn was surprised, he would have thought that she was having the worst time being with him I mean let's face it, he hasn't exactly been a complete gentleman all night.

Later the fireflies faded, it was around nine o' clock. Vaughn and Chelsea looked up at the moon and stars. They were lying down, Chelsea's head was resting on his chest. His hand was running through her lush hair.

Suddenly a comet streaked across the sky, it startled them so much that they actually scrambled up. It left a white streak across the sky. Chelsea laughed, "Wow. Make a wish Vaughn!" Vaughn looked at her, "I already got my wish last week…when you agreed to go out with me…" He entwined his fingers with hers. Chelsea blushed, "Vaughn…"

He smiled slightly, "Let's just enjoy the night..." Chelsea smiled broadly and turned her attention to the starry sky.

-Half an hour later-

Vaughn and Chelsea left Meadow Island and headed back to the main island. They were silent on the way home, the awkward silence was suffocating.

They came to her door. Chelsea smiled, "I had…a really great time, Vaughn…I guess…this is goodnight." Vaughn frowned, no he didn't want it to end yet. He reached out and held Chelsea close to his chest. "V-Vaughn?" She said in confusion.

He drew back a few inches, he was tired of waiting. "Chelsea…it's not goodnight yet…until." Chelsea cocked her head to the side in confusion, "Until what?"

Vaughn cupped his hand under Chelsea's chin, he leaned in and whispered, "Until this…" He lifted her lips up to his and, finally, kissed her gently. Electricity coursed through his entire being, Chelsea widened her eyes then closed them in ecstasy. She threw her arms around his neck.

Vaughn closed his eyes and removed his hand from her chin and placed both his arms around her waist. Reveling in their first kiss, the feel of her lips, the taste… all the while thinking what he would have been missing if he never admitted his feelings to her, even if she still believed he was lying.

He reluctantly ended the kiss, half the reason being that it was getting late and he knew Chelsea needed to get up early the next morning, the other reason was because he needed to breathe. Both of them gasped for air, their breath mixing in the air between them. Vaughn and Chelsea removed their arms for each other.

Chelsea blushed, but she smiled like a champion, "Goodnight, Vaughn…"

Vaughn flushed red, but he managed a visible smile, "Goodnight Chels…"

-Three minutes later-

Vaughn finally returned to the animal shop, still breathing hard from his first kiss with Chelsea. Julia was the first to greet him, "Sooo, How'd it go?"

Vaughn blinked, " It went ok…" Julia pouted, "I want details, cowboy." Vaughn rolled his eyes, "It's just killing you to know, huh?"

Julia nodded enthusiastically. He sneered, "Good…" He went and changed into his normal clothes then flopped on his hay bale. But he got no sleep with Julia pestering him, "Come on~! Just one little hint! Please? Come on, please?"

Vaughn sighed, "If I tell you one thing about my date, will you leave me alone?" Julia nodded happily.

"We went out…end of story, goodnight." Vaughn yawned. Julia slapped him in aggression and stomped away.

Vaughn chuckled under his breath, so she was angry at him again, so what? Because right now, at this time…nothing could spoil his mood.

Little did he know that he was dead wrong the next day.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

(Chelsea)

**Authors note:**

**Hello, thank you so much for the awesome reviews! I am so pumped to write now! So yep, keep reviewing and I'll write more, which will make you all , but if I don't get a lot of reviews, I won't type faster and you'll be all **

Chelsea woke up to Hachi licking her face, "Gah! Alright boy, I'm up, I'm up!" Hachi barked and gave her one last slobbery kiss before leaping off her bed. She checked the calendar, it was already the last day of summer, and the month had flown by so fast.

It seemed like only yesterday she had first arrived on the island.

A lot of things had happened since then. She became a farmer, earned a pet, raised livestock, learned to fish, meet new people…like Vaughn.

She absently touched her lips and remembered the gentle kiss she shared with Vaughn the other night, her face blushed just by remembering it.

She never knew when she started to love the anti-social cowboy.

Vaughn. His mysterious and painful past, deep amethyst eyes that could be cold and critical or soft and gentle. Silver hair half hidden under a black cowboy hat, attire that would make any girl have a nosebleed on a moment's notice. He may seem rough at first, but deep down, he was actually sensitive and simply quiet and feeling.

'Vaughn…'

As she got ready, her toe bumped against something on the floor. "OW! WHAT THE?" She picked it up, it was a small one page book titled 'Locked in everyone's heart'.

"Funny…I don't remember this book…" She murmured, she shrugged and decided to give it a shot.

" Do not read aloud. When a person is born, they are born with a box of emotions, locked deep inside their hearts, these are unlike happy, sad, and upset. These emotions are dark and devious: Spite, Hate, Regret, Jealousy, and the worst…Rage. Very rarely, a human will get blasted with an event that shocks them to their core, so much that the little box opens and leaks out one of those dark feelings. Once it's out, nothing can make it go back in…nothing except Love. Since Rage is hardly used, it is the most deadly when released, making even the happiest man on earth turn bitter and cruel. Love, is the only one that can conquer Rage, without Love, Rage will continue to consume the very being of the host. End" Chelsea read aloud.

"Wow…that's a…um…interesting read…I think." She closed the book and tossed it against the wall, the words still chilled her to the bone, no wonder it's only a one pager, she definitely couldn't see Stephanie Meyer write something like that.

Shrugging she went to her daily work, Slicing the remaining crops and taking care of Beth, and little Terry, who was born two nights ago. The chickens were thriving, and producing S rank eggs.

The sun was beating down as usual, the sky clear of any clouds. Chelsea was in such a good mood that she decided to visit Denny for once, she hadn't done that in a while.

Mainly because the fisherman annoyed her.

But, as soon as she crossed the bridge, she was confronted by Julia, "How'd your date go?"

Chelsea smiled and beckoned Julia closer, "We kissed." Julia cheered and the both of them were jumping up and down, it was kind of like watching a sappy drama where nobody dies. "Alright! You guys are officially a couple!"

Chelsea laughed happily, "Hey, where is Vaughn, anyway?"

"He went to visit Denny at his house. Well, I'll let you go. Don't you kids get in trouble now…get my drift?" Julia hinted.

"Huh?" Chelsea asked. Julia laughed, "Nah, never mind." Chelsea shrugged and started heading down to Denny's house. He lived in a shack by the sea, it was run down and smelled strongly of sea salt. She was about to knock on the door when she heard voices inside.

"How was your date with Chelsea, buddy?"

"Great…"

"Did you guys…"

"Yes…we kissed."

"YAHHOOO! MY BUDDY'S FINALLY A MAN! WHOOOHOOO!"

Chelsea chuckled, "This is interesting, I think I'll eavesdrop and look through the window." She tiptoed quietly, crouching down low so she wouldn't be seen. She was on the side of Denny's house and peeped inside, through the window.

Denny was clapping while rooting for things in an oak trunk. Vaughn was sitting with his back to the window, even from outside she could tell that he was blushing. She sighed happily.

Denny shouted "Eureka!" And brought out a pale red bandanna and an orange jacket , similar to hers, except they looked older.

Vaughn stood up, "They kind of look like Chelsea's." Denny grinned, He pulled the jacket over his purple one and tied the red bandanna to his head. "How do I look?" He joked. Denny cleared his throat, "Hi, Hi, and HI! I'm Chelsea I'm so like chipper and giddy and OH SO HAPPY!EEEEE!" He clutched his side laughing at his imitation of Chelsea's voice.

Chelsea gasped, He was mocking her…was that what everyone thought of her? She stared at Vaughn, mentally willing him to smack Denny or something. Something…was welling up…something she had never known before, was trying to break free.

Vaughn snatched the bandanna off of Denny's head and the jacket from his shoulders, "Knock it off…" He snapped. Chelsea sighed in relief, her heart relaxed a bit.

Vaughn chuckled, "This is how you do it." He started putting on the pieces of clothing. 'What?' Chelsea thought in shock.

Vaughn cleared his throat and put his hands on his hips. "Vauuugghhn… Why are you sooo mean… Your unfair! I'm sensitive…. " Denny fell on the floor laughing. Chelsea couldn't believe this…Vaughn…he was mocking her too?

Vaughn pantomimed flipping his hair over his shoulder, " What? I didn't hear you! Stop it! Waah!"

Chelsea glared at the two of them. Her hands clenched at her sides, angry tears welled up in her eyes. Something inside her snapped. She was filled with an uncontrollable emotion. 'And the worst…Rage.' Rage…that was what was filling Chelsea, it was dark, and evil…she loved it.

She could almost feel the dark aura surrounding her. She laughed darkly, her once innocent eyes were hard and cruel. She was smiling, but it wasn't playful. Her aura was so intense that the glass started to crack, she thought, 'Shatter'. The glass gave way, shards sprayed everywhere.

The two boys jumped back in shock. Denny was cowering behind a chair. Vaughn had placed his hat on his head and removed the bandanna and jacket, and was now looking at Chelsea with shock.

"Chels…?" He said, he kept his composure, even if her hair was whipping around her like she was caught in a storm, eyes wild.

Chelsea threw back her head, laughing maniacally, " _Mock me, eh? You will regret it, Vaughn…I swear it." _

She whipped around, Vaughn placed a hand on her shoulder, but she slapped it off. "_Don't. !"_ She spat, she stomped away angrily.

-One hour later-

"Uhh….Chelsea… Are you ok?" Julia asked slightly shaking in terror, Chelsea slowly turned her head, a wicked grin on her face. "_I'm perfectly fine…why do you asssk?"_ She hissed the last words.

"I think you need to calm down Chels-" Julia said, trying to be gentle, Chelsea fixed a stone cold glaze on her. "_Calm…down? I don't think so. This is the first time I feel…ALIVE!"_

Julia shrank back, "Your scaring me…" Chelsea narrowed her eyes, "_Goood…_"

Chelsea flounced away from her friend, the only good part left in her was yelling to cut it out and apologize. She ignored it, letting the dark thoughts cloud her mind, her soul. She took a deep breath of air, "_Haaah….feels goood…_" She didn't sound like herself, she tried staying calm, but it's kind of hard when you're so enraged, you want to kill someone.

'_Heh, heh, heh…I want to wrap my hands around his neck and SQUEEZE~ his life out.'_

She made her way to her house, Hachi came running up to greet her as usual, but seemed to sense something amiss. With one look, Hachi turned and yelped, running back into the field. Chelsea sneered and headed for her home.

Slamming the door behind her, she sat on the bed and screamed in rage, "_LIAR! FAKE! STUPID CONCEITED LYING COWBOY! I TRUSTED YOU! ARRRRRGGGGHHHH!"_

She jumped up and kicked some of her furniture, unfortunately it wasn't light and it only hurt her foot, which made her scream and more enraged.

She found the one page book, "_YOU…YOU STARTED THISSS! AAAAGGGHHH_!" She threw the book outside the window, it was open so it sailed right through. Dark thoughts poisoned her mind, mingling with her remaining pure thoughts.

'_He betrayed you…'_

'It was just a prank.'

'_Mocked you…has no respect…'_

'Their boys, they mock.'

'_He will never…loved you…'_

'Wha-what?'

'_He never wanted you. He never did.'_

'No…no you're lying!'

'_Liiiieeeessss…? No…he's lying…not me, you.'_

'No! They weren't lies! He loves me! And…And…'

'_Ha…ha….you don't even know how he reaallly feels, do you?'_

'Maybe…Maybe your right.'

'_Yesss…Give in to the darkness.'_

'Will the pain go away?'

'_Oh yes…and so will he. Let me take you over. Body and Soul. Let Rage guide your actions from now on, let blood clear your path and clutter others.'_

Her pure side was losing, Chelsea could feel Rage trying to take over. She tried calming herself, thinking happy thoughts; Beth, Julia, Natalie, Pierre, her first kiss with Vaughn…

The clouds in her mind cleared for a moment, the waves of Rage receded a bit, Vaughn…her Vaughn…

The anger tried to overwhelm her, but she tried holding on, "_Vaughn_…Vaughn!" She hissed trying to get control.

Rage was like a sea of pure fury, consuming and addicting to give in to.

The waves of anger calmed, like the eye of the storm. Chelsea gasped and collapsed on her side, breathing hard, tears leaked from the corners of her eyes.

It hurt…it hurt so much. Pain, sorrow and an overdose of pure Rage was a dangerous combo.

From the tiny puddle, she could see how tainted she had become. "H…H-Help me…" She cried softly, that was the last good thought she had before Rage took control again.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

(Witch Princess)

"Hmm…Hmmm…Hmm?" The Witch princess hummed. She was scanning her book shelves when she noticed a thin gap between two large volumes of magic 101. Narrowing her eyes, she saw a dark aura forming in the space where a one page book should have been…

"Oh no…NOT AGAIN! Curse these stupid magic shelves! I knew nothing good ever comes from eBay!" The Witch cursed and began running out the door. "I just hope no one picked it up yet! CURSES!"

-(Vaughn)-

"Vaughn! D-Did you see Chelsea?" Julia gasped as she ran up to him. Vaughn nodded, "She's…different…"

Natalie ran screaming from Chelsea's house, "AIEEEEE! THERE'S SOMETHING IN THERE!" She barreled into Pierre, who toppled backward. Vaughn narrowed his eyes, 'Chelsea was fine yesterday on our date…what happened?'

Julia trembled, "Sh-She was so angry, but not normal angry, like…enraged…if that makes sense."

"The dark vibes….Their strong….NOT GOOD!" Shouted a voice from behind.

The Witch Princess raced towards them. Vaughn sneered, "What do you want, Witch?" The Witch rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, nice to see you too. Ok, has anyone seen a one page book that might possibly be enchanted?"

At that moment a thin book soared into their little group, knocking off Vaughn's hat. "The hell?" He muttered as he dusted off his hat and placed it back where it belonged. The Witch face palmed herself, "Like that…" She dusted the cover of the book and opened it carefully. She shrieked in horror, "NO!"

Vaughn blinked slowly, "What?" The Witch trembled, her eyes were wild, she swayed to the side, and she would have fallen if Julia and Natalie didn't save her.

"This is AWFUL! NO! SOMEONE HAS READ THIS BOOK ALOUD!" She wailed. Vaughn was getting sick of her wailing, he stepped forward and smacked her, across the face. "Calm…down, and tell us what happened…"

The Witch composed herself, "Ok, first, Ow….that frickin hurt. Second of all, this book-" She held it up for them to see. "-Is enchanted, it contains the most awful emotions known to man, Spite, Hate, Regret, Jealousy, and Rage. Whoever reads it is vulnerable to either one of these emotions. They consume the host till there's nothing left, but an empty shell. When an emotion is in use, the word disappears inside the book, and acts through the host, Of course it only works if something extremely shocking or devastating happened to the person after the reading." She opened the book and showed them.

The page had a few gaps where words should be. Vaughn sneered, "And what's missing, and what the hell does it have to do with us?"

The Witch sighed, "The word missing is Rage, and it's bad because it means that someone here in town is possessed by Rage, which could explain the bad vibes around here."

Julia gasped, "Oh my god…Chelsea! She's been enraged ever since she got back from visiting Denny and Vaughn." She looked puzzled, "Wait a minute, she WAS completely normal before she left, Vaughn did anything happen when she came to see you guys?"

Vaughn shrugged, "All I remember is her shattering the glass, with her aura, and she never went inside and visited."

The Witch stroked her chin, "Did you guys do anything at all that might've made someone upset?"

Vaughn thought about it, he never really did anything…except…nah, that couldn't be it, no way THAT would have caused Chelsea to go all enraged evil aura crazy. "Me and Denny…kind of made fun of her...we didn't know she was watching us mock her…" He said simply. He explained what happened at Denny's house.

All three of the girls face palmed.

"Great, just great! My friend is now a raging lunatic!" Julia said miserably.

"Why did you have to do that? That's just stupid!" Natalie yelled.

"YOU IDIOT! NOW BECAUSE OF YOU, CHELSEA IS A VICTIM TO RAGE! IT WILL CONSUME HER PURE SOUL TILL THERE'S NOTHING LEFT!" The Witch screamed. Vaughn sighed.

"Alright, what do we do now?...I suppose we can't just ask Rage to crawl back in that book, right?" He asked his tone serious.

The Witch glared and shoved the book in his hands, "Nope. Since YOU got her in, YOU need to get her out. The only thing that can get Rage out of her system and back in this book is Love. And I heard you two are going out, so….Good luck lover boy. Once Rage is out of her system, she will collapse, and Rage will appear in the book again. And I can't do it because…uh….I has a meeting to get to?"

Vaughn widened his eyes, "Wha-What? Why me?" Julia glared, "If you won't go of your own accord, I'll make you go!" She grabbed his hat and started running across the bridge to Chelsea's house.

Vaughn cursed, "Why does everyone try and mess with my hat?"

-One hour later-

Julia had dropped the hat and ran screaming back to town when she felt the vibes emanating from the place. The house looked the same, except for the broken window. Vaughn could feel the harsh waves of anger and darkness pouring from the house.

Somewhere, deep inside…was the girl he loved. He steadied his nerves and knocked on the door. *Knock, Knock.* _"!"_ A voice screeched at an unnatural pitch from inside. "Chelsea! It's me! Open up!"

"_NO! I HAAAATTEE YOUUU!"_ Chelsea spat.

"You do not…"

"_Leaaavee…"_

"No…"

"_AAARRRGHHH!" _

Something flew out the window, it hit the ground with a strangled yelp. The little brown puppy, Hachi he thought, was lying on his side, whimpering in sadness. Vaughn couldn't believe it, Chelsea really had gone crazy if she threw her own puppy out the window.

"I'm coming in.." He rammed his shoulder against the door till it gave way. The waves of Rage were enough to almost make him fall to his knees. Chelsea was sitting in the middle of the room, Japanese style. Her eyes full of hatred. Her lip curled to show her disdain.

Her hair whipped around her like a hurricane wind was stirring, Vaughn could almost see the dark smoke around her. "Chels?"

Her eyes flashed red for a moment, _"Get….out…."_ She growled. Vaughn winced, and then remembered that this was Chelsea…his Chelsea.

He knelt next to her, which earned him a slap, which he reflected. Chelsea screamed some more. Her eyes turning cold with fury. _"GET OOOUT!"_ She howled as she tried, unsuccessfully, punching and kicking him.

Vaughn squinted his eyes, had Rage already taken over? He wouldn't allow it. He squeezed his eyes tight and held Chelsea to him in a vice like grip. Holding her close against his chest. Chelsea screamed and flailed, but Vaughn held on, determined to hold on to her.

"_LET ME GOOO!"_

"No! CHELSEA LOOK AT ME!"

"_NO!"_

Vaughn grabbed her chin and turned her face so she can see him. Recognition flashed across the young farmers face.

"_V…Vaughn_!" Chelsea coughed, her eyes were still wild, but not so crazed.

"Yeah…it is me…Chelsea, listen, you need to fight Rage, don't let it consume you… "Vaughn said as he struggled against the waves of anger.

"_You…MOCKED ME…."_ She snapped, Vaughn closed his eyes, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen, please…"

"Won't say you love me in public, you lieee!" She wailed, still sounding enraged, even though Vaughn could feel the waves lighten a bit.

Vaughn forced her to turn her head so that their eyes could connect. Even enraged and with wild eyes, she still looked beautiful to him. "That's because…when I said it to you…I said it at the wrong time, I wanted to save it for when the time was right…but I did mean it!"

Chelsea's eyes lost the crazy gleam, but she still wasn't normal. "YOU ARE….LYING!" Chelsea snarled.

Vaughn yelled, "I'm not! See?" He grabbed her face and kissed her hard. Chelsea's eyes were wide open, her fists were clenched at her sides. Vaughn put his heart into that one kiss. 'Work…please work…'

The waves disappeared completely, evaporating. As soon as Vaughn pulled away, Chelsea collapsed sideways, Vaughn caught her before her head touched the floor. "Chelsea!" He yelled. She didn't move. He gently laid her on the floor, the book was vibrating in his jacket pocket. When he opened it, the gaps were being filled in. The word 'Rage' slowly became visible. He sighed in relief, Rage was back in the book.

He looked over to Chelsea, she was still, only the slight rise and fall of her chest let him know she was still alive. Vaughn picked her up and laid her on her bed. Chelsea smiled in her sleep, the same innocent smile that Vaughn loved.

He leaned close and kissed her forehead tenderly, "I know you won't hear me….I love you Chels…" He pulled back and sat at the edge of her bed, blushing. 'Oh man…I'm losing it…'

-Four hours later-

Vaughn actually fell asleep at the edge of the bed, so when Chelsea woke up, you could tell her surprise. "KYAAHHH! WHAT THE HELL?" She shrieked in surprise. Vaughn landed on the floor with a thud. "Ow…Glad you're up…" He mumbled. He sat up, the bed was low enough so that he could see her. Chelsea was breathing hard, her eyes were clear blue again, her face held her innocence once more.

"Vaughn? Vaughn, oh my god!" Chelsea cried and jumped off the bed. She went into his arms and sobbed softly against his chest.

"I…I'm sorry…I don't know what…(sob)" She sniffled. Vaughn held her gently, "Its ok…you were possessed by Rage, it's not your fault."

She pulled back slightly. Her eyes were still moist. Vaughn chuckled, "Calm down, you idiot…" Chelsea smiled sadly, she caressed his cheek with her hand, which made Vaughn turn red. She leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. He turned red all over again, his nose bled a little. "Gah…" He wiped the drop of blood before Chelsea could see.

He stood up, "Can you stand alright?" He said, offering a hand. Chelsea took it, her knees wobbled but she could stand fine. "Ohh…my head.." She whined. Vaughn helped her sit down on the bed. "I need to return the book to the Witch…and I need to get going anyway. Will you be alright?"

Chelsea smiled cheerfully, "Of course. I'm fine now. See you next week, right?" Vaughn smirked, "Just don't go opening any books of destruction, ok?"

Chelsea laughed and shoved him playfully. He turned and waved once more before leaving the house.

He exhaled in relief, this has been one hell of a day.

-One hour later-

"At least it's finally over." The Witch sighed in relief when Vaughn gave the book back to her. Julia laughed, "I thought we were in a bad rerun of the exorcist for a minute. "

Vaughn shrugged and began walking toward the animal shop, but something was still bothering him. "Hey Witch…why do you have a book like that lying around anyway?"

The Witch shot him a wicked smile, "It's a gift for my annoying niece, Witchkin. The shelves I bo- er, built was supposed to keep this pesky book on the shelf till I was ready to give it to her. It went missing twice. Once it found Will, but he was afflicted with Jealousy, and the cure for that was if Lilly, his love, left the islands for a while. "

Vaughn grunted and walked inside, 'Huh…it found Will…that explains things.' He flopped down on his hay bale and fell asleep, his mind was still being tossed at the earlier events.

What would next week hold? Autumn is beginning, and there will still be more trials to overcome.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

(Chelsea)

"(Groan) Morning already?" Chelsea moaned, her puppy Hachi was staring intently into Chelsea's eyes. He barked happily when she finally got dressed and checked the calendar, Tomorrow was the Goddess Music Festival, a day when people sing a song to either their loved ones or to the goddess herself.

The crops were growing at a steady rate, there was no need for watering with all the rain that happened every other day.

Terri was growing fast, she would be giving milk within the next week, and her mother Beth mooed softly, chewing on pieces of fodder steadily. The chickens were laying A rank eggs, but only because Chelsea forgot to bring them in the night before.

"I said I was sorry…" She muttered to a chicken that pecked her hand. She waved it in irritation.

The crisp autumn air was heavily scented will falling leaves and cinnamon. Chelsea loved this season the best: For one thing, her birthday was next week Thursday, Festivals galore were happening: The Goddess Music Festival, Harvest Festival, and The Moon Festival. She was so cheerful, she even found herself annoying.

As she went into the town she ran into Julia.

"Morning!" Julia greeted. "Hi, Julia." She said cheerfully.

"Off to see Vaughn? He's in the animal shop." Julia said, pointing to the shop. Chelsea blushed, "I'm busy right now, maybe if I have time later…"

Julia snickered, "By the way, I LOVE what you've done to Vaughn." Chelsea cocked her head to the side in confusion, "Huh?" Julia laughed, "He's actually nicer, not by much, but hey, it's an improvement." Chelsea nodded, still confused and walked away to her special spot in the forest.

Well, Vaughn knew about it, but she figured that she had some time before he came looking for her, maybe long enough to find a song that she could sing to him tomorrow…

-Three hours later-

"No…that song doesn't work either." Chelsea sighed as she crumpled a music sheet and threw it to the side. She had already sung, 'Teenage Dream', 'I walk alone', and 'Love Story'. And nothing seemed to fit right.

The cool air felt good on her skin, leaves were falling all around her. She thought some more. Maybe she could just write a song for the festival…

"…There you are…" Said a familiar voice behind her. Chelsea whipped around in surprise, then relaxed when she saw who it was. "Hi, Vaughn! How are you?"

Vaughn smirked, "Great, now that I see that you're not trying to kick my head off with your leg or shouting enraged curses." Chelsea laughed and ran up to hug him. She hugged him close to her, snuggling a bit. He stiffened as usual, but relaxed and warily wrapped his arms around her waist.

Chelsea stared up into his deep purple eyes, they were still guarded, but held a little warmth within. Vaughn's lips were curved up in a slight smile, His hair was stirred in the light breeze. They started leaning towards each other, their lips barely touching…

They jumped back in a hurry, their new relationship was still a huge leap for them, and there was still awkwardness shared between them. Vaughn blushed, "Uh…what are you doing?" Chelsea smiled, "Practicing for the Goddess Music Festival. I can't decide on what song to sing though."

Vaughn's slight smile vanished, "Singing…?" Chelsea smiled brighter, "Yeah. Wanna sing with me?"

Vaughn rolled his eyes, "I think…singing is a waste of time."

Chelsea stepped back from him, "What?" Vaughn sneered, "Chels…nothing good comes from it, and it's just another way for people with no talent to THINK they have it, by belting it out."

Chelsea stared at him in shock, SHE sang all the time, "So…you're saying I have no talent…" He face palmed, "No…I didn't say that."

She started to glare at him, "I sing all the time! You're basically saying I have no talent!"

"Ok…now you're just being stupid…"

"Now you think I'm stupid?"

"N-No….I didn't mean that."

"You know, I bet you're just saying people have no talent because YOU have no talent!"

And that's when Vaughn lost it, without thinking he slapped Chelsea.

*SLAP!*

She stumbled back. Her hand rubbed the stinging patch on her cheek. Vaughn widened his eyes, "I-I didn't mean it! Chels…." He reached for her but pushed it away. Hurt glistened in her eyes.

She exhaled slowly, "You know what…forget you. I'm leaving." She turned and stomped away, tears stinging her cheeks as they rolled down slowly. "Stupid…" She muttered as she headed to town. The tall trees with their bright cheery colored branches seemed to loom over her, causing claustrophobia.

"Chelsea, wait! I'm sorry!"

She ignored his voice, hugging herself for comfort, sniffling lightly as the slap mark on her cheek darkened to dark red.

She needed someone to talk to. Not Julia, no doubt she would confront Vaughn head on. Not Denny, he's Vaughn's closest friend. Will? No way. Elliot would waste her time with his stuttering. There were only two people left she could turn to.

-Twelve minutes later-

"Hi guys…" Chelsea said meekly as she rubbed her cheek where it was already glowing red.

Natalie and Pierre stood from their table, eyes wide with shock.

"Oh my god…" Natalie whispered.

"Mama Mia!" Pierre murmured.

"Chelsea! What happened? Your-Your face!" Pierre and Natalie both fretted. They looked at each other, glares exchanged and turned their attention back to Chelsea.

She laughed shakily, "I-It's nothing…Vaughn and me just got in a little fight, that's all."

"And he hit you? Crap. Let me at 'em!" Pierre stood and looked like he would've rushed out, if Natalie didn't grab his top hat, and said "Sit your ass down."

"Eep." Pierre sat back down and took his purple hat back and placed it on his wheat yellow hair, looking a bit stressed.

Natalie sighed, "Chels…Vaughn is, let's face it, an idiot. He loses his temper…a lot."

"But he hit me…."

"Maybe he was having an off day and took it out on you."

Chelsea sighed, "Well, what do I do now? He already hit me, I can't hit him back…I just don't know what to do…"

Natalie grinned wickedly, "Well, It's not a plan, but I do have an idea"

Pierre looked at Natalie in confusion. But Chelsea was interested, her curiosity screamed at her. She would show Vaughn.

She took a deep breath, "Tell me."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

(Vaughn)

"What? Dude…why did you hit your own girlfriend?" Denny said, flailing his arms in shock. Vaughn sighed, "It was an accident you idiot!"

They were on Meadow Island, waiting for the Goddess Music Festival to start. Some instruments: A guitar, drums, and a music box, were laid out in case people didn't want to sing acapella. The only instrument Vaughn knew how to play was the guitar, but he swore he would never play it again.

'You have no talent, quit now while you're ahead!' He remembered his mother had said. He closed his eyes and let the memory wash over him.

-Four minutes later-

'"But…I like singing…and guitar is…fun." He had said, he was eight at the time. His mother glared, "It's a waste of time, son." She held out her hand, "Give it to me…"

"No!" He had clutched the instrument defiantly to his chest.

"I said give it to me!"

"Dad, taught me how to play…It's mine!"

"HE'S DEAD, VAUGHN!" 

"I DON'T CARE! I MISS HIM! HE'S A BETTER PARENT THEN YOU'VE EVER BEEN!"

"That's it…" His mother had sneered and grabbed his guitar out of his hands; she smashed it against the wall, the instrument shattered beyond use. Vaughn had stood there in shock, his mother knelt down, her light lavender eyes bore into him, "Vaughn…you need to find a REAL purpose. Or you'll end up just like your father…dead and alone."

Vaughn couldn't remember if he cried or not that day. But he knew he had to keep playing, it was part of his memories of his dad. No matter what he did, his mom would just take the guitar and break it before making him pick up the pieces.

He even tried playing in secret, but his mother always found out and took the instrument away from him and beaten him again and again.

A few days later she abandoned him.

"What...You said we'd always be together! He had shouted, tears streamed down his face as he watched his mother stand in the doorway, a suitcase in hand, wearing a light purple business suit.

His mother looked cold and distant, "I won't take care of you anymore…I don't want a disappointment for a son…"

"M-Mommy…"

She sighed, "I arranged for you to stay with a nice lady for a while…her name is Mirabelle." Vaughn had started to cry, "I'll quit the guitar! You can beat me up, call me names, even abuse me… I'll do anything…please don't leave me all alone!"

His mother turned her back, "Your passion for that guitar is disgusting, what? Did you want to be a guitarist when you got older and waste your life? Pathetic…goodbye son."

Vaughn had gasped and tried to catch up to her as she walked, his short thin legs tried to run to her. "Mommy! NO! DON'T GO!" He tried reaching for her hand, but she had already gotten into the cab and was beginning to drive away.

She had abandoned Vaughn…never looking back for even a moment, leaving only him and his guitar.

In his anger, Vaughn had smashed it with his fists, causing splinters to dig in deep and cry in anger and pain. As his blood trickled between his fingers he made a promise to himself to never play the guitar again, since it only made him lose his loved ones.

-Ten minutes later (back to the present) -

"Vaughn? Vauughn? YO! Wake up!" Denny yelled, snapping his fingers in front of Vaughn's face. His eyes snapped open. "What...?"

"You were spacing out."

"…So?"

"Just saying…it was kinda weir- HOLY PUNK CHICK!"

"Uh…huh?"

Denny was wide eyed with surprise, "You gotta see this." He pointed to the dock on the island. Natalie and a girl in Goth clothes, black and deep red were hopping off the boat.

Vaughn widened his eyes, "Chelsea…?"

Chelsea gave him a small scowl, her bandanna was on, and a black leather jacket covered a blood red shirt. She wore torn black shorts. A pair of designer Ray Bans covered her eyes, the black lens seemed to glint wickedly in the sun. "Hey."

He gave her a once over, "What…are you wearing?" Chelsea removed her glasses, "It's for my song…I finally decided. And Taro is letting me go first." She got up in his face, "Got a problem with that?"

Vaughn just blinked, trying to keep his anger at bay, "No…"

Chelsea grinned, "Good." She placed the Ray Bans on her face and walked over to Natalie and Julia. The three girls started talking vigorously. Denny leaned over, "What the hell was that about?" He whispered.

Vaughn narrowed his eyes, "I don't know…but I think we're about to find out.

"OK! The Music Festival is officially beginning!" Taro shouted over the microphone on the prebuilt wooden stage. "The girls will sing first, Chelsea has volunteered to go first. Let's give her a round of applause."

-Ten minutes later-

Everyone clapped as Chelsea took the stage. She had brought up the music box with her. "Hi everyone. Ok, this is a song for Vaughn, hope you all like it."

She glared at Vaughn once before she clicked on the music box. A familiar tune from All American Rejects.

"I wake up every evening…with a big smile on my face. Never seems out of place." She turned her attention on Vaughn as she said the next part, "When you see my face, hope it gives you Hell, hope it gives you Hell! When you walk my way, hope it gives you Hell, hope it gives you HELL!"

She narrowed her eyes, which made Vaughn feel uncomfortable. 'Yep…she's pissed.'

"When you find a girl that gives a damn about you well, well she's a fool hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell!" She turned from him and closed her eyes.

"Now, you'll never see, what you mean to me! So pack up your memories their nothing to me, don't hypnotize when you look me in the eyes! Take your sad, sad look that I know so weelll!"

She ended the song. The crowd erupted into applause. Vaughn just stood there shell shocked. Chelsea leaped off the stage and walked right by Vaughn. "Chels…" he tried to say, but she ignored him and walked straight to the group in the back with Lanna.

He sighed and rubbed his face in frustration. She ignored him all of yesterday, and now she was pulling that crap today? He would be leaving again, later on that night, but he knew that if he did leave, his relationship with Chelsea might be harmed beyond repair, maybe even broken.

He tried to relax and watch the other girls sing. Julia sang 'Bubbly' to Elliot, which made Elliot sigh and turn red. Natalie sang 'Love Song' to Pierre, which made Pierre shuffle his feet uncomfortably.

And finally Lanna sang 'Hate on me' to Denny, which made Denny yell and clap louder than anyone there, guess he didn't know that it was supposed to be a putdown on him, not a compliment. Witch Princess actually sang 'I'll put a spell on you' to the goddess, she glared everywhere as she sang, it made the song sound a little creepy.

Taro took the mic again, "Ok! That was the girls. We'll be taking a short break. Men, start preparing your voices, because in the next hour you will be singing!"

-Fifty minutes later-

"What song you going to sing, buddy?" Denny asked. Vaughn gave him a cold look, "I don't sing…"

"What? You need to!"

"I don't…"

"Do you WANT to lose your girlfriend?"

"What…?"

Denny face palmed himself, "You saw her up there. She was singing a HATE song! This is serious Vaughn, if you don't make a comeback, you might lose her."

Vaughn blinked slowly, "So…how do I not lose her…?" Denny grinned, "You know how to play guitar, right?" Vaughn sneered, "Yes…but I'm not playing it."

"You love Chelsea, right?" Denny asked shrewdly. Vaughn blushed, "Uh…um…well…Idiot…" Denny shook him by the shoulders, "Then you need to listen up! If you skip out on the song, you'll only prove her point. Now, I'll ask you again…Do you want to lose your girlfriend?"

Vaughn turned steely eyed, "No." Denny grinned, "Ok, but this plan needs a guitar."

Vaughn winced, he swore he'd never play again, what if Chelsea really did leave him? Just like everyone else in his life, eventually…people leave.

"No…I can't."

"You have to!"

"…I…"

He glanced over to where Chelsea was sitting, she had removed her jacket, and she was staring sadly in his direction. When they made eye contact, she blushed and tried looking angry. He sighed and looked back at Denny, "Fine…I'll play the damn guitar."

Denny chuckled, "Great…here's what you'll do…"

-Ten minutes later-

"Ok, let's get this show on the road. The order is: Denny, Pierre, Will, Elliot, and then Vaughn. Denny step up to the mic and start your song." Taro shouted into the mic, making everyone's ears bleed, metaphorically of course.

Denny sang 'Wild thing' to Lanna. Lanna smacked her forehead in embarrassment, she ignored Denny when he came down to greet her.

Pierre sang 'Perfect Two' to Natalie, but Vaughn had a sneaky suspicion that he only sang it because it had names of foods in the lyrics.

Will sang 'Breaking down' He didn't name anyone, but everyone knew he was singing to Lilly, even though she was absent.

Elliot sang 'Only exception' to Julia that earned the little nerd a kiss on the cheek when he went down to Julia.

It was finally his turn, he carried the guitar, he still remembered the frets and chords, even after all those years of no practice. Taro looked surprised and whispered, "I thought you were going to back down again, like last year…" Vaughn sneered under his breath, "Change of plans old man."

Vaughn sat on the stool where all the guys sat and sang their songs. He tilted the mic down, "Hey…this song is for Chelsea…" He started to strum softly, the crowd was silent in awe as Vaughn began to sing.

"Best thing about tonight is we're not fighting…Could it be that we have been this way before?" He spotted Chelsea in the crowd, wide eyed with wonder, he smiled slightly and focused his attention on her. His hands had a mind as they picked and strummed the right chords in the correct order.

"I know you don't think…that I am trying! I know you're wearing thin down to the core." Vaughn continued to sing, Chelsea was looking teary eyed.

"Oh, but hold your breath…because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you! Over aggaaain, don't make me change my mind, or I won't live to see another day, I swear it's true, because a girl like you is impossible to find! Your impossible to find…" He sang.

"..This is not, what I intended…I always swore to you I'd never fall apart. You always thought that I was stronger…" He squeezed his eyes shut as he sang the next part, "I may have failed, but I have loved you from the start!"

He sang the chorus one last time and finished. The crowd was going wild. The girls were screaming, the guys were cheering. Vaughn placed down the guitar and began walking down.

The crowd suddenly fell silent as Chelsea walked forward. The crowd made a one lane so Chelsea and Vaughn had a clear path to each other. Chelsea was crying slightly, but had a smile on her face. "That was…beautiful ,Vaughn."

He blushed and looked down, "Thanks…I'm sorry, about before…do you…forgive me?" He asked hopefully. He looked up, he was afraid that Chelsea would laugh or reject him. But instead, she raced down the lane and threw her arms around him tightly, "Of course I forgive you, you stupid cowboy…" Vaughn was surprised, he gently put his arms around her. He hadn't lost her...

Denny shouted from inside the crowd, "Kiss her, you idiot!" Vaughn blushed and pulled back from Chelsea a bit. She gave him a mischievous smile, "If you won't make a move, I guess I'll have to."

She threw her arms around his neck and pulled his lips down to hers. As soon as their lips met, Vaughn felt electricity surging through him again. He slowly closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist.

The crowd cheered even louder, Charlie and Eliza were bug eyed and going 'ooooo'. Vaughn wished that time would freeze, he wanted to savor this moment forever. He taste of her lips, the feel of her body, pressing up against his, every nerve in his brain was going ballistic. They regretfully parted and walked into the crowd to see their friends.

"Whoo hoo! You go Cowboy! THAT'S MY BUDDY!"

"Eh, I could've kissed the beautiful damsel better."

"That was sooo romantic, see Pierre! That's what a couple should look like"

"Chelsea, you're so lucky!"

"It seems our buddy Vaughn is under the spell."

"Th-That was in-intense!"

"That was hotter than the time I made five alarm chili!"

"Frankly, I think I used to kiss Will better than that…" Said an unfamiliar voice.

The crowd parted to reveal a pretty Asian girl, in a red bootleg cut kimono. A rucksack was slung over her shoulder and her hair was done in a bun with strange chopsticks sticking out. "Lilly?" Will said in a strangled voice.

She smiled at him, "Hello, my beloved…" Will stepped forward, his eyes wide with wonder, "Your back…"

Lilly gave him a sad look, "I didn't want to leave, but it was required. The Witch informed me that I could come back."

Will slumped his shoulders in defeat, "You don't love me…"

"Now why do you say that?"

"Because…you left me, you never took the blue feather I offered you."

Lilly winked, "I just wasn't ready for your proposal, well proposals. But of course I love you. Now why don't we ride back to the hotel and we can have a proper reunitement, hmm?"

Will beamed eagerly and offered his arm to Lilly, together they walked to the boat and the man in the blue suit sped them to the main island. In less than a minute he came back, the boat was empty.

Taro cleared his throat awkwardly, "Well…this has certainly been an interesting day. Everyone the Goddess music festival is now drawn to a close. Have a safe trip home!"

-Twenty minutes later-

Vaughn walked Chelsea home, their fingers entwining as they walked in the shafts of moonlight. Vaughn had another nosebleed, he wiped it quickly with his other hand, 'Damn it.' Chelsea's hand was warm in his.

Her sweet scent washed over him, fresh earth and flowers, and a hint of cinnamon. As they came to the door, it was time to part till next week. "Goodnight, Vaughn…" She smiled cheerfully.

Vaughn smiled, but only slightly, "Night, Chels…" They shared a quick kiss goodnight. He turned around and headed towards the animal shop.

-Ten minutes later-

"Oh my god, I can just see it! You two are so going to be together forever! Can I be a bridesmaid at your guy's wedding? Elliot can be the best man, and you're going to have lots of kids and oohh, I can just see it now and-" Julia was cut off.

"Julia?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up…"

"Why~?"

"Because you're annoying voice is irritating."

Julia whapped Vaughn upside the head and went to bed. He sighed and flopped down on his hay bale. Marriage? To Chelsea? He loved her…he was sure, but husband and wife? Somehow he just couldn't see it. 'People leave…sooner or later…' his mind reminded him.

Vaughn stared sadly up at the ceiling, how long would his relationship with Chelsea last? He closed his eyes, if it was possible…he wanted to see her again so badly…he longed to run his hands through her hair. To wrap his arms around her waist.

His eyes snapped open, what was he saying? He was starting to sound like a love struck idiot! 'Was this what love does? It changes people?' He thought.

He flopped back down on his hay, "Great…I'm losing myself…Soon, I won't even recognize myself anymore…"

By the time he got back, things would be getting complicated again.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

(Two special cameo guests)

*Try and guess who they are BEFORE you reach the bottom of this chapter*

Two young men, around 16, leaped off the boat. One had long silver hair and wore a snow leopard print shirt and bellbottoms. The second one had a blue and dark gray beanie covering up his pitch black hair; he wore glasses and had a type of robe and flat shoes.

The first one turned to the second one, "You think this is the place?" He had a type of swagger that would make people stay away and hide their belongings.

The second one gave him a dark look, "Yeah…Why are we here anyway? I need to get back to Zephyr Town…" He had a cool arrogance about him, and a lazy attitude towards people.

The first one chuckled and smoothed his hair back along the nape of his neck. "Patience…remember why we're here, hmm? We need to test Vaughn's 'love interest', it's a family tradition."

The second one rolled his eyes, "Fine…where is he, anyway? Does he know we're here?"

The first one laughed jovially, "Nope. Let's go find our cousin." The second one adjusted his beanie and sighed, "Fine…let's get this crap over with…"

They began trekking to the town, their feet barely making a sound on the loose sand.

- (Chelsea) -

"Ha-ha cut it out! Vaughn, that tickles!" Chelsea squealed. Vaughn and Chelsea were sitting on Meadow Island, on their second date. The sun was covered in a sheath of clouds, but Vaughn insisted that they try and spend as much time together as possible.

Vaughn pulled back from Chelsea's ear, he smirked, "What's the matter? I thought you liked me nibbling on your ear…" Chelsea rolled her eyes, "Idiot."

He cocked an eyebrow up, "That's my line…" Chelsea stuck her tongue out at him, "Not anymore, cowboy." Vaughn sighed and flopped down on the brittle, leave strew ground. "Ok…I'll go back to ignoring you then…"

Chelsea punched his shoulder and laid down next to him. She glanced at his face, it was always so serious, but today he looked a little less guarded. The way he stared at the sky with such intensity, the way his cold purple eyes reflected the harshness of the faded sun.

Vaughn caught her looking at him and blushed, "What…are you looking at?" Chelsea widened her eyes in surprise, "Uh…oops, my bad." She turned her attention to the cloudy sky.

She was still nervous…and still surprised. Ever since they met, she always assumed that Vaughn hated her, and that at best, they could only be friends. Chelsea yawned and scooted closer to Vaughn, she felt him stiffen up a bit.

The wind started picking up at a rapid rate, whipping leaves into a mini tornado, Vaughn sat up, and "Time to go back…a storm might be coming." Chelsea nodded cheerfully and began walking with him back to town.

-Twenty minutes later-

"Hey guys, man, did you see the storm that's beginning to brew out there?" Julia asked happily as soon as Chelsea and Vaughn stepped in.

Vaughn shrugged and went to lean against the wall; he tipped his hat low over his face. Chelsea sighed softly, back to business as usual, that's Vaughn. Julia motioned for them to sit on the couch, "Guess what?"

"What?"

"Ok, so me and Elliot have been serious for a while right?" Julia said excitedly.

"Yeah?"

"Ok, we went on a date yesterday, nothing flashy, a picnic. We were just eating and kissing in between bites of egg salad…" She trailed off and had a dreamy far off look. Chelsea had to snap her fingers under Julia's eyes for her to regain focus.

"Hmm?"

"You were saying?"

"Oh yeah, so anyway, he asked me to bring out the French bread from the basket, and when I pulled it out…" She paused for dramatic effect.

"Go on. What happened next?" Chelsea said excitement tainted the air around them. Vaughn must've been listening because he actually chuckled, the little eavesdropper.

"There was a wedding ring at the end, HE PROPOSED!" Julia squealed, Chelsea squealed too and they were hugging and going "Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god!"

"Would you two keep it down…? It's distracting…" Vaughn huffed.

Chelsea rolled her eyes at him, "Aren't you happy? Julia is about to get married!" She turned back to Julia, "When is it?"

"We have no time, what with all the events, so we're going to hold it in spring next year, right when the cherry blossoms are due to bloom." Julia said, the dreamy look returned to her eyes.

Vaughn sighed and rubbed his eyes, he sauntered over to them. "It's just a marriage….nothing special."

Chelsea turned defiant, "It IS special. It's not everyday people pronounce their undying love to one another in front of an altar.

Vaughn shrugged, "Whatever…I just think it's an excuse to do the deed anytime you want."

Chelsea cocked her head to the side in confusion, "The deed?"

Vaughn sighed and blushed slightly, "You know…when two people start to have-"Julia slapped a hand over his mouth, her face was bright red.

"No. I and Elliot aren't getting married because of 'the deed'; marriage is way more than that." She turned a deadly smile on Vaughn, "Isn't that right, Vaughn?

Vaughn glared and slapped her hand from his mouth, "Hmph, I'll give it about….Three months after your marriage till you're pregnant?" He held up three fingers in mock defiance.

Julia whapped him over the head and walked out the back entrance to the shop.

Chelsea stared innocently at him, "I still don't get it." Vaughn rolled his eyes, "You don't have to worry about it till later…" He suddenly had another nose bleed; he tried to cover it up with his arm, but Chelsea saw it.

"Your nose is bleeding again…what are you thinking about?" She interrogated. Vaughn turned as red as Julia, "N…Nothing."

Chelsea laughed, "Wow, you've been having nose bleeds a lot lately. You should have it checked out before it gets worse. He tipped his hat low over his eyes, "Idiot…"

Suddenly the door swung open, two young guys, around 16, stepped into the shop. One of them had long silver hair and a snow leopard shirt, with black bellbottoms. The second one had an oddly colored beanie atop his head and wore glasses, which matched his robe/clothing ensemble.

The one in the snow leopard shirt stepped forward first, "Ah, there you are Vaughn. We've been looking for you everywhere!" He said flamboyantly.

The second one pushed up his glasses, "He has…I just want to get this stupid thing over with…I do have work to get back to." He glared at the first guy, "Unlike some people that should remain nameless."

Vaughn narrowed his eyes, "Oh great…"

Chelsea looked at him in confusion, "You know these guys?"

Vaughn sighed, "Unfortunately yes..."

The first one closed the door and both of them walked forward till they stood directly in front of Chelsea and Vaughn.

"We're relatives. Where I came from, I am known as the thief among trades, basically, if I see something that catches my eye, I snatch it." The first guy said with an arrogant tone.

The second one sighed, "I on the other hand have a job, and I work at a bazar on weekends as a merchant…which I should be preparing for right now."

"Um…ok," She turned to Vaughn, "What are their names?"

Vaughn sighed, "Chelsea…these are my cousins…Skye and Lloyd…the only relatives I have that count right now, sadly."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

(Vaughn)

"Cousins?" Chelsea said surprised. Vaughn sighed inwardly, 'What did these retards want?'

Skye grinned broadly, "And is this….your girlfriend?" He asked, he turned to Chelsea, "What's a beautiful girl like you doing with our boring cousin, eh?" Lloyd rolled his eyes, "Watch it Skye…your married to Jill, and remember?" Skye chuckled, "Of course I remember, it doesn't hurt to be friendly."

Both Lloyd and Vaughn grunted in disgust. Chelsea laughed, "Well, I can see the family resemblance." She checked her watch, "Uh-oh, gotta go Vaughn, I need to bring in Beth." She waved to Skye and Lloyd, "Bye, it was nice meeting you."

Skye waved cheerfully back, while Lloyd just nodded his head in recognition.

Chelsea walked out of the shop cheerfully. Lloyd leaned against the wall, his eyes lazily scanning the shelves.

"Hmm…you picked a nice girl Vaughn." Skye elbowed him in the stomach.

Vaughn snapped, "What are you two doing here?"

Lloyd sighed, "It's tradition…when one of us gets serious with a girl, the other two put the girlfriend through a test of trust. If she passes, we accept her, if she fails however, you will be forced to dump her, remember? All three of us made that pact when we turned seven, the second to the last time we saw each other." He said it so simply, like he was just describing a piece of furniture instead of giving Vaughn rules to a trial he was already familiar with.

Vaughn sneered, "I'm not going to participate…in this stupid trial we used to do when we were kids."

Skye chuckled and patted him on the back, "Oh, but you have no choice, now let's see…" He looked at Lloyd, then at Vaughn, "Hmm…he has the personality, and I look like you Vaughn. This is going to be fun."

He sighed cheerfully, "Ahh, I remember when you guys put my dear Jill through the trials, she passed with flying colors. It won't be so bad Vaughn, but…you need to be out of sorts for a while."

Vaughn cocked an eyebrow, "What?" Lloyd sighed, "Sorry…the trials have begun…" Lloyd brought back his fist and punched Vaughn in the back of his head. The last thing he heard before he blacked out was the sound of his cousins snickering.

-Half an hour later-

'Ow…head…hurts.' Vaughn thought. He warily opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that his hat and ascot was gone. "The hell!"

He was in a room in the hotel in east town. The room was light and cheery with apples on the wallpaper, Vaughn appeared to be sitting on a fluffy hotel bed. Lloyd sat in the corner, flipping through old magazines.

He acknowledged Vaughn, "You're awake…Believe me, this is not my idea of fun…I'd rather be home."

Vaughn scrambled into a sitting position, he walked to the door and tried turning the handle. As expected, it was locked.

"What the hell is going on…And where's Skye?" Vaughn demanded, Lloyd barely glanced in his direction and went back to his magazines. Vaughn gritted his teeth and walked over to his cousin, he ripped off Lloyd's beanie, and his black hair was a mess. Lloyd stood up, anger in his gaze, "Hey! Give that back…"

"Where…is…Skye?" Vaughn said slowly, gripping the beanie in his hands. Lloyd sighed, "When I said the trials have begun, they began. Skye went off for the first trial."

Vaughn pointed to his head and neck, "And my things?"

Lloyd face palmed, "Haven't you noticed that you and Skye have nearly the same looks, even down to your purple eyes? The first trial is recognition, he's going to see if Chelsea can tell the difference between you two."

"So he dressed up as me?"

"Yep…"

"Why are you so calm about this?"

"Because…I'm not the one being trialed…you are…"

Vaughn tossed the beanie to Lloyd, he caught it in one hand and placed it on his head.

Vaughn paced the room, "Why…am I in here then?" Lloyd blinked, "Because all three of us know you're going to intervene if you're walking around town."

Vaughn whipped around and faced Lloyd, "And why are you here?...What's in it for you?"

"Simple…Skye threatened to ruin my business in Zephyr town. He was all excited that we got to go through this whole trials nonsense…If it were my choice, I would be back in the village right now." Lloyd said simply.

"How could Skye threaten your business?" Vaughn sighed as he flopped back on the soft mattress.

Lloyd gave him a pointed look, "Have you met our cousin…? He's a renowned thief, he would steal the other items at the bazar from the other venders. I would have no competition and that would be boring…and you know how I despise being bored."

Vaughn sighed. 'Chelsea…please, you need to pass…or it's the end…of us…' He thought miserably.

-Chelsea(The next day)-

Chelsea was walking through town, enjoying the sunshine. "Ahh, thank god the storms over." Chelsea said cheerfully to no one in particular. She checked her watch, it was a quarter past eight, time to visit Vaughn at the animal shop. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought of being with him again.

The crops were growing at an alarming rate, Hachi was guarding Beth, so…why did she feel that something was going to happen? She almost opened the door when she noticed someone staring at her. She turned around.

Vaughn had appeared on the right in front of her, his gaze serious as always. "Hi Vaughn!" Chelsea said cheerfully.

He smiled broadly, "Hello, my snuggly lovey bear."

Chelsea paused, big smiles? New pet names? She scanned him quickly, he still wore his cowboy attire…but something was different. "Um…Hi, you ok, Vaughn?" He dropped a sly wink, "Of course…why wouldn't I be?"

Something was definitely up, the way he talked, the way he acted…even the shade of purple in his eyes were off.

Chelsea narrowed her eyes, "Ok…What do you want to do today?" Vaughn smiled, and grabbed her by the shoulders, and brought his face down to her level. "Why don't we kiss? I missed you yesterday, my beloved Chelsea."

Her instincts screamed, 'NOT VAUGHN! DON'T FALL FOR THE SCAM!'

Chelsea smiled, "Of course, darling…lean closer." Vaughn had a triumphant smile on his face; he closed his eyes and leaned in. She had a little something in store for 'Vaughn'.

As soon as his nose touched hers she screamed, "HAI YA!" and kicked him where it hurts. Vaughn fell to his knees in pain, "Ow…why did you do that?"

Chelsea glared and ripped off his hat, revealing longer than usual silver hair, "I knew it! You're not Vaughn! You're his cousin, Skye. Why the hell were you pretending to be him?"

Skye winced as he staggered up, "First…how did you know I wasn't him? We look exactly alike except for our hair length." He squeaked.

"First off, Vaughn never gave me a pet name, and even if he did, he would blush and deny it right after. Second, the color of your eye color is slightly different from Vaughn's. But the thing that really tipped me off is that Vaughn never smiles big, NEVER. He hardly even shows a small smile, much less a cheerful and broad one." Chelsea listed off matter of factly.

Skye sneered, "You passed this trial, but there are still two more to come." He hobbled off somewhere, probably to recover.

"What? What does that mean? Where's Vaughn?" Chelsea yelled, but Skye had already left.

"Vaughn…" She whispered, what happened to him. She rushed inside the animal shop, "Mirabelle! Julia! Vaughn's missing!"

-Vaughn-

The door to the hotel room slammed open, and Skye hobbled in, "Ow…Ow…dear lord…that hurts!" He complained. Skye shut the door and flopped on a chair. Vaughn picked him up by his collar and fixed a glare on him, "What…did…you…do?"

Skye flailed around, "Put me down! Is this how you treat family? How rude!" Vaughn sneered and dropped him on the floor.

Skye shakily stood up, Vaughn gave him a look of cold contempt, "Where's my hat?"

"Your girlfriend took it after she found out I wasn't you…and she kicked 'the boys'…rather hard…" Skye said, wincing slightly at the pain. Vaughn sighed, "Well…it was fun, I'm leaving now." He started towards the door.

Skye composed himself, "Not so fast! DUDE BEAM SLAP!" Vaughn suddenly froze, not able to move an inch of his body at all.

"What the…I thought your stupid move only worked on women!"

Skye grinned triumphantly, " That's CHICK beam slap, I said DUDE beam slap. There is a difference. I came up with it myself. Besides…the funs only starting, now Lloyd must do the second trial." Lloyd sighed, "What? Now?"

"Yes, now!"

"Fine…I'll get the clues…"

"Hurry up!...Ow…still hurts."

"What clues?" Vaughn said coldly, Lloyd shrugged, "It's kind of like a hunt, so I'm gonna need….this." He took Vaughn's jacket. "It's for the final letter…if she finds this, then she finds you. If she can do it before the day ends…she passes."

Vaughn glared, "I really hate you both right now…" Skye and Lloyd both returned the glare, "We know…" They were definitely related.

Lloyd did a mock salute and sauntered out the door, *Click* the door was locked once again.

Skye snapped his fingers and Vaughn unfroze, "This is the last trial?" Skye smiled and held up two fingers, "Second to last…the last trial is Chelsea finding you." He scanned Vaughn and sighed, "Frankly, I think I'm the most handsome of us three, Lloyd is the smartest…"

He never got to finish since Vaughn kicked him with the toe of his boot, right where Chelsea kicked. Skye groaned, "Goodnight folks…" And collapsed in a curled up ball.

Vaughn smirked, "Chelsea's not the only one who knows that trick." He sauntered over to the window, he closed his eyes. He remembered when he first met Chelsea, back then…did he really hate her that much?

He shook his head slowly, "No…I've always loved you, Chelsea." He murmured to himself.

-Chelsea-

After two hours of searching, Chelsea was feeling dark, a sliver of Rage, not very big to make her shatter glass or have a dark aura began to glow, making her have impure thoughts. No one seemed to either care or know where Vaughn was. She sighed, fighting back tears and the tiny sliver of Rage, where could he have gone? She gripped Vaughn's hat close to her.

"…Hello…" Said a voice behind her.

She whipped around and came face to face with Vaughn's second cousin Lloyd. Chelsea narrowed her eyes, "Where is Vaughn?"

Lloyd blinked slowly, he didn't look like Vaughn, but he had the attitude. He handed her a note, "Here…follow the instructions…and you get our cousin back." He held a white stone, similar to Chelsea's and disappeared.

Chelsea swore and tore open the letter. 'Follow the clues before 5pm today…if you fail, you lose your boyfriend…Go to the house of the wicked.'

"House of the wicked?" She murmured. She checked her watch, three 'o clock. Two hours before the deadline.

She snapped her fingers, "Witch Princess."

-Ten minutes later-

"Here. Some weird guy in a beanie gave me this, he said give it to you when you come to my house." The Witch said lazily as she handed the letter to Chelsea.

Chelsea thanked her and left, she tore it open. '…Go to the bar…under a stool that is the most uncomfortable.'

She made a weird face, "Yeesh, I know where that is…"

-Thirty minutes later-

"Eureka!" Chelsea finally fished a letter from the bottom of the broken bar stool, it was broken because it had no cushion and a nail was sticking straight up, waiting to impale someone. Elliot found that out the hard way when he sat on it, he jumped so high he made a hole in the ceiling.

She opened it, "Finally…go to the Goddess grotto…" She read aloud. Her watch said Three forty, time was running out, she needed to get to the Harvest Goddess pond, stat.

-Twenty minutes later-

"You…are…kidding…" Chelsea said. The letter was floating in the middle of the lake on a mini raft. She sighed, "…Vaughn, when I find you I'm going to kill you and your cousins." She found a flat wooden board and hopped on it.

She gently stirred the water with her hand to paddle the makeshift raft to the letter. She finally grasped it, the raft was kind of strange though…it looked familiar… Brown and black…and made of soft leather.

It was Vaughn's jacket, she gingerly took it out of the water and paddled back to shore.

She placed the hat on top of it and tore open the letter. 'You found the item…come to the hotel, room 13B…Better hurry, Time is not on your side…'

She checked her watch, Ten minutes to five. She pulled out her stone, "Hotel…quickly." She vanished.

-(Vaughn)-

"Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Toc-" Skye sang cheerfully.

That is, till Vaughn snapped, "SHUT UP! If you must…sing something else."

Skye smirked, "We only got five minutes to save the world!" Vaughn gave him a dirty look and smacked his head against the wall in frustration. The wall clock read five minutes to five, if Chelsea didn't get there in time…he would be forced to break up with her.

Lloyd sighed, "She's not coming…oh well, and I really wanted to see how many times she could kick Skye till he starts to cry…"

"Hey!" Skye exclaimed, his pride hurt.

The door started shaking, someone was pounding on the door. "Open up! Open up! Please! Vaughn, are you in there? Vaughn!" Screamed a familiar voice. Vaughn looked at the clock and breathed out in relief, 4:59. She came just in time.

Lloyd began to open the door, but it was kicked open, he was smashed behind it. "….Ow…."

Vaughn snickered, "Well, congratulations Chelsea…you have officially maimed every member in what remains of my misconfigured family."

Chelsea was breathing hard, possibly from kicking down the door so roughly. Her eyes were wild. As soon as her eyes connected with Vaughn's, she let out a breath of relief. "Vaughn!"

She started racing forward, as she leapt into his arms, her face buried in his chest. "You're safe…I was so scared." Vaughn felt warm inside, his heart was beating like a bass drum, "You're just in time…"

Skye stood up and brushed off his sleeves, "Bravo, you can keep dating our cousin. Trials are over, Lloyd we can leave now….Lloyd?"

Lloyd staggered out from behind the door, his glasses askew, one lens was broken. "Heh, heh that was the most fun I've had in days! Ha, ha, my head hurts…" He chuckled. Skye raised an eyebrow, "Huh…Oh well, he'll be fine. Come on Lloyd, time to go home."

Lloyd chuckled and kept saying random phrases like 'Hurt', 'Pizza', 'Madonna'. The door closed, leaving Chelsea and Vaughn all alone in the hotel room.

Vaughn stared at Chelsea, "You went through all that crap…just because of me?" Chelsea blushed, "Yeah…I did."

He chuckled softly, "You surprise me sometimes, you know?" Chelsea laughed, "Well, things aren't going to be made easy for you, cowboy."

They just stood there and remembered where they were…in a hotel…with a master bed behind them. They glanced back and blushed, "Uh…I'll walk you home." Vaughn offered, his arm covering his nose again.

Chelsea nodded vigorously.

They walked out of the room; Vaughn's mind still flitted back to what could've happened in there… He mentally shook his head, 'no…not yet, but maybe one day.'

-One hour later-

"Night Vaughn, thanks for walking me home." Chelsea said happily. Vaughn shrugged, his eyes widened, "Oh…I almost forgot…" He pulled out a little box from his pocket and handed it to her, "…Happy Birthday…"

She beamed, "You remembered!" She opened up and gasped, she pulled out a necklace, and it had a topaz firefly hanging on it. She clutched it to her chest, "A firefly necklace…like from our first date."

He blushed and looked down, "It's nothing really…just something I picked up in the city…"

Chelsea smiled, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Vaughn relaxed and held her, their lips parted against each other, their kiss getting deeper more intense. Vaughn could feel his temperature rising, his grip tightened on her back.

They broke it quickly, their breathing ragged. "…You…" Vaughn heard part of what she said. "WH…What?" He said as he finally caught his breath. Chelsea looked into his eyes, eyes as clear as the ocean, "I said…I love you."

Vaughn blinked slowly in shock, "You…love me? Not as friend's right?" Chelsea laughed as she gently laid a finger on his lips, "No…I love you more than that, more than words can even begin to describe." Vaughn swallowed hard and held Chelsea closer to him for a moment longer, than he had to part from her.

"Goodnight…" They said at the same time. He smiled slightly and began walking down the path to the animal shop.

-Ten minutes later-

Vaughn ran into the Witch Princess, who was staring blankly in his direction. He narrowed his eyes, "Witch? What…are you doing here?"

"Danger…" The Witch murmured…but not in her voice. Her normal voice was always snarky and light. The voice that seemed to fill her words were ancient and raspy. It sent shivers of fear up Vaughn's spine. "Danger?"

"Beware…the one you call friend…beware your love….BEWARE!" The Witch moaned mysteriously. Her eyes glowed green, Vaughn yelled in surprise.

Then in a moment the glowing stopped and the Witch cleared her throat in confusion, "Hmm? What was that…oh evening, Vaughn, bye!" She turned and skipped away to her home as if nothing happened.

Vaughn just stood there, in shock, "Beware…my friend…and my love?" His best friend was of course Denny…and Chelsea was his love. Beware them, why?

He started to break in a cold sweat. "Why the hell can't there ever be a frickin normal day on this stupid island?" He swore and walked into the animal shop.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

(Chelsea)

"Man Chels…these carrots are awesome!" Denny said as he munched on one. Chelsea and Denny were sitting on the steps of the café, enjoying a chat and some homegrown carrots from Chelsea's fields.

She smiled, "Yep. These are a grade. You think Vaughn would like some?"

Denny snickered, "Vaughn? And carrots?" He started laughing uncontrollably, "HAHAHAHAHA! Oh my god! You should see his expression when he just sees them."

Chelsea cocked her head to the side in confusion, "He doesn't care for them, much?"

Denny laughed harder, "Chels…he hates them…"

She shrugged, "Who knows, maybe he'll try one."

Denny rolled his eyes, "He has too many issues… why are you guys dating again? I mean, not to be mean, but you're so happy and cheerful, and he's so…well, him."

Chelsea blushed slightly, "Um…well, he understands me; I know he's strong enough to take care of me and him, and…well, I love him. By the way, how did you and Lanna break up?"

Denny turned red and he nearly choked on his carrot, "Uh…well, that's kind of a sore spot for me…Hey look, here comes Vaughn!"

Vaughn was walking up to them, a look of contempt in his eyes like always. He smiled slightly when he saw Chelsea, "…Hey Chelsea, hey Den-"He cut off in mid-sentence when he saw the carrots they were eating.

His eye began to twitch, "Is that…carrots?"

Chelsea smiled, "Yeah, you want some?" She held one up for him to see. Vaughn practically jumped back. His face had gone pale, his purple eyes wide with fear. "Uh…n-no thank you…I don't want it."

Chelsea frowned, "Are you afraid of carrots or something?" Vaughn blushed, "No…I'm going to...go now..." He took a few steps back and then turned around, breaking into a run.

Denny fell over, clutching his sides as he started cracking up. "HAHAHAHA! OH MY GOD! HAHAHAHA! Some man you got, Chels! HAHAHAHA!"

Chelsea wasn't amused, Vaughn didn't just hate carrots, and he practically feared them. She started thinking long and hard. Somehow, they needed a plan to reassure Vaughn that carrots weren't to be feared. But how…

She thought back to her third birthday party, she had been terrified of Winnie the Pooh, yes the bear. So at her party, her dad dressed up as him, seeing that the bear contained someone close to her, she wasn't afraid…IDEA!

She gave Denny, who was still laughing, a once over. She chuckled, "Say Denny…what size are you?"

Denny slowly stopped chuckling to reply, "Size L, Why?"

She bent down and smiled, "What size carrot suit do you think you would fit?" Denny wasn't laughing now, "No…no, no, no, no, no."

"Oh yes, yes, yes!" Chelsea laughed, before Denny could crawl away, she grabbed him by his black shirt.

"Chelsea! Come on! Be reasonable!" Denny whined as they went to her house.

-Two hours later-

"Come on Denny, you look adorable!" Chelsea called.

"I'm not coming out!"

"You can do it!"

"No! You're going to laugh at meee!"

"I will not!"

"Promise?"

"Promise!"

"Fine…" Denny stepped out of her bathroom. The carrot suit had four holes, where his arms and legs stuck out. The leafy top kept getting in his face hole, he brushed it off irritably. Chelsea snickered, and then it broke into full out laughter.

Denny pouted, "You promiissed!" Chelsea wiped a tear from her eye, "S-Sorry…ha, ha,"

"What's the point of this, again?" Denny complained, swatting the leafy top out of his face hole.

"Simple, if this thing made me laugh when I first saw you, this would cure Vaughn of his fear like that!" She snapped her fingers.

He sighed, "Fine let's get this over with." They walked out and headed to the animal shop.

- (Vaughn) -

"You ok, Vaughn? You've been tense all day." Julia asked, concern tainting her voice. She tried placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder but he shrugged it off.

"I'm FINE!" He composed himself, "I'm fine…" He leaned against the wall, breathing out hard. 'Beware your best friend…and your love…' "Stupid Witch…" He mumbled low under his breath. He swallowed hard, for as long as he could remember, he had hated, and maybe feared carrots.

He thought back to that stupid day, it was three days after his dad died. His mom was giving him dinner, turkey and carrots. He had smiled and used the carrots as rocket ships, zooming it around the table.

'Vaughn! Put down the carrot and eat it!'

'Vroom! Vroom! BEEP! BEEP!'

'Don't you know…What happens when you play with a carrot instead of eating it?'

Vaughn blinked, 'What?' His mother leaned close, 'They stalk you at night, always waiting to strike.' She said in a menacing tone. Vaughn cringed, 'Y-Yeah...r-right…'

He had resumed playing while his mother smiled evilly at him from across the table.

Later that night, his mother had played a nasty trick. Of course he only found out it was a trick four years later. He was watching TV when a carrot hit him upside the head. 'Owwie…Wha?' A low voice sent chills down his back, 'Vaughn…we carrots are upset at you…'

He was shivering, 'Why?' The low voice chuckled, 'you…played instead of eating…we will hurt you till you cry.'

Vaughn was bombarded with a barrage of mini carrot bites; he had screamed his head off, running to his room, even though the voice was laughing, 'You see what happened?'

'I HATE CARROTS! AAHHHHH!' He shrieked when he threw a blanket over his head and cried himself to sleep. Shaking till morning, he woke up, his covers covered in carrots, He screamed and ran out of his room, and his mother was cracking up, 'How was your sleep?' Vaughn had collapsed to his knees in tears.

He shook his head; he was back to the present. Chelsea was talking to Julia, who was giggling uncontrollably. He sighed in relief, what did he have to worry about? He had ok friends, a job, a girlfriend…what could go wrong?

And that's when his nightmare stepped into the shop. He stiffened in shock as he gave a once over to a giant carrot with arms and legs. It didn't seem to notice him and went…in back of Chelsea?

Vaughn swallowed, that stupid carrot might attack his girlfriend. It was just standing there; he shivered, and then composed himself. "Try and ruin my life again, eh? Not this time…"

- (Chelsea) -

"Aww, Denny, you look so cute!" Julia giggled as she looked over Chelsea's shoulder.

Denny huffed, "Whatever…"

Chelsea laughed, "So where's Vaughn? This just might cure his fear and hatred of carrots." In response Vaughn charged out of nowhere and tackled Denny, who yelped, "ACK! WHAT THE?"

"Vaughn?"

"DIE CARROT DIE!" He shouted as he pummeled poor Denny with his fists.

"Ow! OWCH! Not the face!"

"Vaughn! Stop!"

"GRRR…DIE CARROT! DON'T YOU DARE LAY A FINGER ON CHELSEA!"

"YEOWCH! Quit it!"

"VAUGHN! THAT'S NOT A REAL CARROT! THAT'S DENNY!" Chelsea shrieked. Vaughn froze and looked down at the carrot he was pummeling. There was a face hole…and poor Denny looked like he had been thrown in a blender set on puree.

"Denny? Why…are you a carrot?" Vaughn asked as he helped Denny up. Denny brushed himself off, "It was your girlfriends' idea!"

Chelsea laughed nervously, "Well…I didn't want you to be afraid of carrots so I dressed Denny up like one so you would see that there was nothing to be afraid of…I didn't exactly count on you beating him up though."

Vaughn exhaled slowly, "Chelsea…you really are an idiot." Chelsea flinched, ouch…

Vaughn turned and gave her a cocky grin, "But…I guess it worked, I'm no longer afraid of carrots, now that I know how wimpy they are.

Denny pouted, "Hurtful~!" he whined. Vaughn walked forward and gave Chelsea a quick hug before pulling back in embarrassment. "Thanks…" he tipped his hat down low over his blushing face.

Chelsea smirked, "Stupid cowboy…" She tipped Vaughn's hat up and gave him a tender kiss. He stiffened as usual. Going red all over again. She pulled away after a minute, grinning ear to ear.

Vaughn looked over at Denny who had dusted himself off, "Hey Denny…you can take the suit off you know."

Denny sighed sadly, "I know…but there's one problem."

"What?"

Denny pouted, "Chelsea forgot to sew a zipper on this thing!"

Vaughn and Chelsea face palmed.

"Crap. I knew I forgot something… Anyone have a pair of scissors?" Chelsea asked. Vaughn chuckled and held up a pair of shears, "Will these work?"

Chelsea smiled, "Yep. Ok, Denny stay still." Denny froze, "Aw, c'mon! What if you make a mistake and cut somewhere important?"

Vaughn snickered, "Would it really be a loss?"

Vaughn couldn't help laughing as Chelsea cut Denny out of the suit. Julia was holding her sides, her eyes tearing up as she laughed uncontrollably. Chelsea looked over at Vaughn, smiling. She really did love him, and with winter around the bend, she couldn't help but think that maybe…nah, but still.

'Well, maybe me and him will still be together…though I have my doubts.'


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

(Vaughn)

"Ah…Ah…AHCOO! Crap…" Vaughn sniffed. He had woken up that morning feeling as sick as a dog. He tried to hide it, but even Mirabelle and Julia were noticing.

"Vaughn, are you sick?" Mirabelle said, worry and concern in her voice.

Vaughn stifled another sneeze, "I'm fine…it was just one sneeze."

"Mmhm, more like twenty. You've been sneezing all morning. And yet, you're still working yourself to death!" Mirabelle chided. Julia sighed, "Give it up, mom. I've already tried talking reason with him."

Vaughn glared them down, "Hmph…I've never been sick a day in my life." Julia and Mirabelle rolled their eyes and went back to work. He sneered one last time and left the animal shop, he didn't need those idiots.

-Ten minutes later-

Vaughn sneezed as he made his way to Chelsea's house. He was feeling warm and cold at once, if that made any sense. His throat was scratchy and he felt slightly dizzy. "Not…sick….not sick, not me."

Chelsea was sitting on her porch, stroking her puppy; she looked up and smiled as he approached. The puppy barked and jumped over to him, Hachi licked Vaughn's left boot then trotted away.

"Hi, Vaughn!" She said cheerfully. He grunted softly in response. Chelsea frowned slightly, "Vaughn… you ok? You don't look so good."

Vaughn snorted, "Of course I'm ok…I'm the picture of health." Unfortunately, he sneezed right after, which didn't exactly justify his words. Chelsea cocked her head to the side, "Are you sick? I could make you something…"

He waved her off irritably, "I said I'm-"His head started to pound and he started to fall, headfirst. He would have hit the place in front of him if Chelsea didn't catch him.

"Oh my god! Vaughn! Are you…your warm? Ok, that's it, you're coming inside." Chelsea said, she helped him stand, his arm over her shoulder. "I'm fine…don't need…" Vaughn groaned, his head was spinning like a mini tornado.

Chelsea walked him inside and demanded that he sit down on her bed. He groaned but didn't complain.

Chelsea brought him a bowl of something white, it smelled faintly of honey. "Here…eat this, it will help with your fever."

Vaughn sneered, "I don't have a fever…" Chelsea glared right back. "Don't be such a baby, this is a mixture of cold grated daikon radish and honey. I added ice cubes so it would be cool to eat."

Vaughn sighed, "Fine…" He took the bowl from her and tried a bite. It was rich and cool. It helped soothe his throat. He smiled slightly, "This is really good…" Chelsea laughed, "Glad you like it. Finish up and I'll take your temperature."

Vaughn rolled his eyes, "I'm not sick."

Chelsea shook her head and went to the kitchen to get the thermometer. As he ate, Vaughn looked around, the house seemed way bigger than the last time he visited.

The ceiling was higher, the kitchen was bigger, and the bed was even bigger, enough for two people. When he finished his bowl, Chelsea took it away and placed the thermometer in his mouth. He grumbled silently around it.

Chelsea pulled it out and inspected it, "I knew it! A 101 degree fever. It's official, you have a cold."

"I do not…"

"You do too."

"I've never gotten sick a day in my life."

"Well, you did, case closed."

"Case open...I'm not sick"

"You have a frickin fever!"

"Trick of the sun…"

"Stop being stubborn!"

"Like I said…it's my job…"

Chelsea sighed and sat next to him on the bed, Vaughn blushed slightly, and they were so close to each other…her scent wafted over him, fresh earth and flowers, like always. She turned to him, "Look, Vaughn…you're sick. Why don't you spend the rest of the day here. Not all day, since I know you leave later on tonight. But, its twelve now, at least let me take care of you till six…ok?"

Vaughn swallowed, Chelsea's eyes were full to the brim with worry, her lips in a puppy dog pout. "Fine…" He muttered. Chelsea smiled and hugged him, which made him go red.

"H-Hey…you're going to catch my cold!" He complained. Chelsea giggled and let go, "I wouldn't have minded. Stay here. I'll go get an ice pack for you. Just lie down and relax." She stood up from the bed as Vaughn flopped onto his side, he placed his cowboy hat on the nightstand and kicked off his boots.

He just laid there, watching her as she made his icepack. 'Huh…who knew she cared that much about me…'

After a few minutes later she came back to him and patted an icepack on his forehead. He sighed, the ice was cool and soothed his fevered head. "Sleepy…" He murmured, his eyelids were getting heavy.

Chelsea smiled down at him, "Sleepy? Ok, just nap, I'll be here when you wake up." She started to turn, but Vaughn placed his hand on her arm. Chelsea turned back to him in confusion, he looked up at her blankly.

"Stay…with me…" Vaughn murmured. Chelsea's expression softened. "Alright, I'll sit by you." She sat at the edge of the bed.

Vaughn smiled weakly, he reached for her hand. Chelsea entwined her fingers with his. It was warm…but Vaughn didn't mind…it felt so good. She smiled and smoothed his hair down with her fingers. She smiled, "Better?"

Vaughn swallowed, "Umm…nah, never mind…I'm good." He blushed again. Chelsea cocked her head to the side in confusion, "What's wrong?"

He blushed again, "Uh…well…" Chelsea gave him a serious look, "Vaughn. Spit it out."

Vaughn swallowed again, his heart was racing, "Could you…lie down beside me?" Chelsea stared at him wide eyed, her face was red. Vaughn wondered if he said the wrong thing.

But then, she smiled, "Alright, if it will help you sleep, scoot over." Vaughn made her some room till his head was on the second pillow. Chelsea settled on the bed beside him, she entwined her fingers with his again.

"How's that?" Chelsea asked, still blushing. Vaughn smiled, which surprised Chelsea, it even surprised him. "Perfect…"

Chelsea smiled back, "Good." She kissed him quickly on the cheek. "Now get some sleep, I need my boyfriend in perfect health."

Now it was his turn to be surprised, that was the first time she called him her boyfriend. Vaughn started to feel the fatigue of sickness, he needed to sleep. He was shivering since his fever was starting to break. Chelsea scooted closer and rubbed his shoulder.

"Shh…its ok, fall asleep, I'll be here when you wake up…" Chelsea said in a soothing tone, which was the last thing he heard before he slipped into sleep.

-Five hours later-

Vaughn blinked awake. His fever was completely gone, along with his other ailments. He glanced at Chelsea, her eyes were closed and she was breathing slowly. She must've fallen asleep. Their hands were still entwined. He switched his hands so he could use his other arm to hold Chelsea close to him.

He closed his eyes, he wanted to stay like this forever. His heart ached for her. It was new for him, he was so used to pushing people away, making a personal bubble for himself.

Vaughn nuzzled his face in Chelsea's hair. "I…love you…" He whispered.

"I love you too, Vaughn."

Vaughn stiffened and looked down. Chelsea was looking up at him, a smile on her face. He instantly scrambled up, blushing, and without his hat it was more prominent.

"Oh...uh…you…were awake?" He stuttered. Chelsea sat up and looked at him with her blue eyes. "Not really. I…just heard you up so I woke up." She blushed. Vaughn swallowed, Chelsea had done so much for him, and he normally tried to distance himself from her.

Chelsea looked at her watch, "its 6 o'clock." She smiled at Vaughn, "Guess it's time for you to go, huh?"

Vaughn nodded, Chelsea helped him up off the bed. Vaughn pulled on his boots and threw on his hat.

"Thanks…for everything…" Vaughn said as he stood in the doorframe. Chelsea smiled cheerfully, "Yep. You look better…Take care of yourself, ok?"

He grunted and left. Each step away from Chelsea was like a thorn in his side.

-Twenty minutes later-

"Vaughn! You look better! Is your cold gone?" Julia asked as Vaughn stepped into the shop. He shrugged, "Just took a…really good nap." Julia lifted an eyebrow, "With anyone in particular?"

He blushed, "N-No…IDIOT!" He flopped down on his hay bale and tried to hide his bright red face.

-A few hours later-

Vaughn didn't realize he was asleep till he was blinking awake. He sat up and stretched. His watch said ten." Time to go…" He muttered.

He pushed the door to the shop slowly, as not to wake anyone. He stepped out into the frigid winter air, snow was on the ground, not a lot, but a good start. He started to walk to the pier when something light whapped him in the face.

"The hell…?" He cursed, his vision had gone dark blue, and he peeled the object off his face and dropped it in alarm. A blue feather floated to the ground in front of him. "B-Blue…feather?" He heard about those, Chen normally sold them.

But Chen's ones were always light blue, this one was dark blue, the color of the deep ocean. Blue feathers were used as items for proposal in marriage.

Why the hell did it float in his face, did someone drop it? He picked it up and looked around, no one was around. He gulped, "What…does this mean?" His hand shook violently, was this…a sign? He shook his head, "No…someone just dropped it…yeah…that's it." He tossed it on the ground and grinded it into pieces in the white snow with the toe of his boot.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

(Chelsea)

"I love the snow!" Chelsea squealed as she rolled in the snow. Vaughn sighed, "It's just frozen water…" Chelsea rolled her eyes and stood up, dusting the snow off of her clothes. They were on Animal Island, it had been snowing all day, and it had done next to nothing for Vaughn's sour attitude.

"You ok? You've been kind of distant today." Chelsea said as she crouched down and began to roll up a snowball.

Vaughn shrugged, "It's nothing…" Before he could react, Chelsea had leaped up and threw a snowball right into his face, knocking him backward. "What the…."

Chelsea stuck out her tongue, "Let it snow, let it snow." She sang gleefully. Vaughn smirked, "Oh...you think that's funny?" He whipped two snowballs out of nowhere and flung it at Chelsea. It hit her full on in her face.

"Ouch." She said as she fell backward. She fell flat on her back. Even though the snow was covering some of her face, she remained still. Hardly moving.

"Chelsea?...Chelsea!" She heard Vaughn shout as his boots crunched on the snow.

As soon as he bent down, she sprang up and pinned him to the snowy earth, knocking his cowboy hat off. His purple eyes were wide with astonishment. Chelsea snickered, "Got ya, didn't I?" Vaughn rolled his eyes, "Alright, alright…let me up…"

Chelsea laughed and helped him up, he gave her a sour look. "Sheesh Chels, you're such an idiot…"

Chelsea gave him a hurt look, "Are you sure, you're ok? You're kind of…mean today." Vaughn snorted, "No one is a perfect Prince Charming you know…"

"Tell me about it."

"I just did…"

"It's metaphorical."

"Does it matter…?"

"Yes it matters!"

"And…?"

"Ok, why are you being so irritating?"

"…Payback…"

Chelsea sighed, her breath fogged in the air. "Alright, now what do we do? We pretty much killed the snow ball fight. All of the animals are hibernating. And it's too cold to go swimming!"

Vaughn dusted off his hat, he shrugged, and his eyes were distant again, like he was off in his own world.

She snapped her fingers in front of his eyes. He turned to her irritably, "What?"

Chelsea glared slightly, "Are you even paying attention? God, it's almost as if you don't even want to be with me! I mean seriously-"

She never got to finish since Vaughn tackled her to the ground... Anger and maybe even a bit of hurt mixed in his eyes. "Don't…you…EVER…say that again!" He sneered in her face.

Chelsea was shocked, Vaughn softened his gaze, "Sorry…"

He got off of her and helped her in a sitting position. Vaughn buried his face in his hands, he sighed. "Something happened last week…I don't want to talk about it, ok…?"

Chelsea scooted next to him. Vaughn removed his hands from his face and looked at her, his silvery hair was moving slightly in time with the falling snow.

"Vaughn…it's ok, I'm here for you. If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine. I'm just concerned with the way you're acting."

He swallowed, "You…don't need to worry…" He hesitantly caressed Chelsea's cheek, his gloved hand was warm and calming. He removed his hand, blushing furiously. "Uh…"

"Vaughn?"

"Yeah…?"

"You're almost as shy as Elliot." Chelsea snickered. Vaughn glowered, "Would shy Elliot…do this?" He grabbed Chelsea by her shoulders and kissed her. Her eyes widened, then fluttered closed as they wrapped their arms around each other. Their lips parted and the kiss went deeper, more intense. Chelsea tangled her fingers in Vaughn's hair as he pulled her closer. They fell sideways, and rolled until Vaughn was on top of her. Chelsea removed her hands from his hair and placed it on his back, feeling his muscles underneath his shirt and jacket.

Vaughn traced Chelsea's bottom lip with his tongue, asking for entrance which he was soon granted. His warm tongue slid along her own, drawing a small moan from her as she gripped onto the front of his jacket and shirt. The cowboy's hands trailed her sides as he tilted his head to get a better angle at the kiss and deepen it more. Eventually however, the lack of air caused them to break the kiss; a thin trail of saliva connected their lips before it broke.

Chelsea panted softly; her face flushed a light pink at what had just occurred. Vaughn's eyes were clouded with lust and obvious desire that gleamed in his normally blank, expressionless eyes, his face color took on a deep red color as he realized the type of compromising position they both were in.

Vaughn cleared his throat, "I'll…help you up." He stood up and helped Chelsea on her feet. They were covered in snow, but they felt warmer than before.

-Twenty minutes later-

They arrived on the main island, and practically landed in the middle of a feud between Natalie and Pierre.

"Dammit! You only care about your stupid recipes!"

"I'm a food critic! What do you expect?"

"We hardly even kiss anymore!"

"We do so kiss!"

"Oh please, Vaughn and Chelsea kiss more than us! And that's just sad."

"WHAT? Oh come on! I bet Vaughn kisses like a dead fish in heat! I kiss better than that!"

"Yeah, but not by much."

"Are you having an affair?"

"Of course not! You're more likely to be having an affair with your god damned recipes!"

"Well don't compare us to Vaughn and Chelsea, ok? That is an insult!"

"You do realize…we're standing right behind you…right?" Vaughn said lazily, cutting into the fight. Natalie and Pierre slowly turned towards them and attempted to paste fake smiles on their faces.

Chelsea rolled her eyes as Vaughn face palmed, "We're sad?...Look in a mirror you two!" They said at the same time. They glanced at each other than blushed, trying not to make eye contact. That memory on Animal Island was practically engraved on the surface of Chelsea's mind.

Pierre huffed indignantly, "Sheesh, their right…I'm sorry Natalie, I do like you." Natalie snickered, "Yeah, I know, you old butterball."

They punched each other in the arm then left, probably to go and make up. Vaughn sighed, "Well, that was interesting. Chelsea shrugged, "It happens every day, whenever you're not here. It's pretty common now."

They looked at each other, eyes connecting, you could practically see the sparks. Vaughn broke the connection with a shake of his head, "Uh….lets go to the animal shop."

Chelsea smirked, "First Animal Island, now Animal shop?"

Vaughn tipped his hat low over his blushing face, "Idiot…"

-Ten minutes later-

"Hi guys! Are you ready for the winter festival tomorrow night?" Julia asked cheerfully.

Chelsea clapped her hands, "It's going to be awesome! Contests and romantic mistletoe kisses!"

Julia giggled, "Are you going to get Vaughn under the mistletoe, Chels?"

"No, she is not…" Vaughn muttered from across the room. His eyes glinted in the dim lighting in the store.

Chelsea pouted, "But Vaughn…We already made out on-" Vaughn blushed furiously and ran forward, slapping a hand over her mouth so she wouldn't say anymore. Chelsea mumbled against his gloved hand indignantly.

Julia raised an eyebrow, "Huh?"

Vaughn rolled his eyes, "It was nothing…" Chelsea glared and bit his thumb. Vaughn cursed and let go, "Ouch! What the HELL?"

Chelsea sneered, "It was…NOTHING? That's not what you said on that island, Mr. French kisser!" Julia was snickering, Vaughn was beet red. "I-Idiot…not like it meant anything important" He brought his hat down low over his face. Chelsea was feeling a dangerous feeling again…Rage.

She thought it was all out of her system, but the Witch warned her that a tiny sliver was still inside. It would grow dangerous if she got enraged all over again. She could feel the dark aura, weak, but effective, to start to spread over her. Julia began to notice and stopped snickering, "Uh…oh…Vaughn!" Vaughn lifted his hat up over his eyes, "What?...Oh…"

Chelsea was gritting her teeth now, her hair starting to float around her head. Vaughn stepped forward and hugged her close. "I'm sorry…"

Chelsea hissed, but then calmed down in his arms. The dark aura struggled one last time, then faded. Vaughn let go and stared into her eyes, "You, ok…?"

Chelsea swallowed, "Yeah…I'm fine now…sorry 'bout that."

Julia wiped her brow in relief, "Phew! THAT was close, you almost went full on enraged."

Chelsea shrugged and smiled in Vaughn's direction, "I should go home now. Hachi is waiting for me." Vaughn shrugged, "I'll walk you home…"

Chelsea blushed softly and nodded. They left the animal shop together.

-Five minutes later-

They walked in silence, their feet crunched the fallen snow, the only sound between them so far. The icy wind blew over them softly. Vaughn stared straight ahead, not once looking at Chelsea.

Vaughn broke the silence, "So…want to go to the winter festival together?"

Chelsea raised an eyebrow, "What do you think, cowboy?"

"Stop calling me that…"

"It's your nickname."

"…Cowboy? Real original…"

"Well at least I had the decency to pick one out for you."

"I have a nickname for you…"

"Really? What?"

"Annoying farm girl that never shuts up…" Vaughn chuckled. Chelsea stuck out her tongue and pushed him with her hand.

They arrived at Chelsea's door. Hachi, who was dozing woke up when they approached. He leapt into Chelsea's arms, barking his little head off. "Hi, boy!"

Vaughn smiled slightly, "Cute dog…" He ruffled Hatchie's ears, which earned him a happy bark and a lick.

Chelsea beamed, "I didn't know you liked dogs." Vaughn chuckled, "There's a lot…you don't know about me. They walked up to the door, Hachi leaped out of Chelsea's arms and trotted inside the house. Beth mooed silently and shuffled inside the barn with Terry.

Vaughn placed a hand on Chelsea's shoulder. As soon as she turned around, he kissed her tenderly on the lips. It lasted for only a moment, but it still left her feeling breathless.

Vaughn nervously cleared his throat, he was blushing again, "See you tomorrow?"

Chelsea smiled, "You can count on it…cowboy."


End file.
